Japanese prospects are very rarely featured on this blog (and I'm sorry about that) though one fighter we simply cannot ignore is Japanese Welterweight prospect Yoshihiro Kamegai (19-0, 17). The hard hitting 29 year old has started to get some international attention in recent months thanks to his appearance in the states when he defeated Hector Munoz in 6 rounds (on the undercard of Nishioka v Marquez).
Having debuted back in 2005 Kamegai's career has progressed somewhat slowly though he has shown all the traits of a fighter who can go a very long way. So far he has shown truly heavy hands and the ability to punch from almost any angles with his ability to mix it to both head and body being excellent. He has also shown an ability to switch hit and appears to hit genuinely hard with either hand. In fact of his 19 careers bouts only 4 bouts have gone beyond 6 rounds with only Daisuke Hata and Heri Andriyanto managing to see the distance.
Although Kamegai has genuine power on his shots he does look to be somewhat defensively deficient and can be hit clean and hard due to major defensive issues. Due to his defensive issues he could become one of the most fun fighters in the talent heavy Welterweight division. Sadly despite his power it's this defensive flaw that is likely to hold him back, despite his new found fame in the US. The current Welterweight division seems to be a division based upon speed with fighters like Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather Jr, Andre Berto and Amir Khan (who has signaled his intention to move upto Welterweight in the foreseeable future). His defensive issues will almost certainly cost him though it will be fun to see how his career goes.
Friday, 2 December 2011
Friday, 25 November 2011
Zurdo to be tested tough on Canelo undercard
In the past I've looked at Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramirez Sanchez, the young and emerging Mexican Middleweight who currently holds a perfect record of 19-0 (17). Sanchez has so far faced relatively limited opposition with Rogelio Medina and Oney Valdez standing out as the only credible wins, though on Saturday (on the undercard of Saul "Canelo" Alvarez v Kermit Cintron) he faces a very tough test against the experienced Samuel Miller (24-4, 21).
The 32 year old Miller is currently based out of La Habra, California (though was born in Arboletes, Colombia) and is one of the most testing fighters out there. Not only does Miller have a solid punch on him, he's also tough having never been stopped. Whilst Miller has lost to world title contenders such as David Lopez and Marco Antonio Rubio he's probably best known for his wild war with Darrell Woods in what was one of 2007's fight of the year contenders.
For Sanchez this is a genuinely tough test against a power punching tough man who is likely to shake Zurdo at least once. If the Mexican 20 year old can get past the tough test of Miller then he'll have further cemented his growing reputation as one of the brightest prospects in Mexico.
The 32 year old Miller is currently based out of La Habra, California (though was born in Arboletes, Colombia) and is one of the most testing fighters out there. Not only does Miller have a solid punch on him, he's also tough having never been stopped. Whilst Miller has lost to world title contenders such as David Lopez and Marco Antonio Rubio he's probably best known for his wild war with Darrell Woods in what was one of 2007's fight of the year contenders.
For Sanchez this is a genuinely tough test against a power punching tough man who is likely to shake Zurdo at least once. If the Mexican 20 year old can get past the tough test of Miller then he'll have further cemented his growing reputation as one of the brightest prospects in Mexico.
Monday, 10 October 2011
Daniel "Bad Boy" Rosas, part 2-The title fight
Back in May I wrote about a young Mexican prospect called Daniel Rosas,who at the time was 10-0 (7) and was emerging as a contender in either the Bantamweight or Super Bantamweight divisions. It's always exciting when one of us writers spots a special talent and this coming Friday Rosas, (now 12-0, 9) attempts to prove he is a real deal whilst fighting down at Super Flyweight.
Since the first piece was written on Rosas back in May the young Mexican has dropped down to Super Flyweight where he picked up WBO Youth Title and defended it once though it's the way this sport has developed which now sees him fighting for an "interim" world title. We are less than a week away from Rosas "title fight" in which he will be facing Jose Cabrera (20-2-1, 8) in Los Mochis.
Whilst this is easily the biggest fight of Rosas' career it's a fight he really should be able to win and if he does he may well join the top of one of boxing's more changing division. The current WBO champions is Omar Andres Narvaez, who in 2 weeks makes his Bantamweight debut to face Nonito Donaire whilst the other champions include Rodrigo Guerrero (who recently won the IBF title), Tomonobu Shimizu (who won the WBA title just a few weeks ago), Tepparith Singwancha (interim WBA champion who upset the highly rated Drian Francisco) and Suriyan Sor Rungvisai (who scored a huge upset a few weeks back by defeating Tomas Rojas and defends his title in November against Nobuo Nashiro).
Rosas could join the ever growing list of Mexican world champions, but could he also actually be the best of them? We'll have to find out but one thing is for sure, he's an exciting and skilled fighter who will be near the top win or lose.
Since the first piece was written on Rosas back in May the young Mexican has dropped down to Super Flyweight where he picked up WBO Youth Title and defended it once though it's the way this sport has developed which now sees him fighting for an "interim" world title. We are less than a week away from Rosas "title fight" in which he will be facing Jose Cabrera (20-2-1, 8) in Los Mochis.
Whilst this is easily the biggest fight of Rosas' career it's a fight he really should be able to win and if he does he may well join the top of one of boxing's more changing division. The current WBO champions is Omar Andres Narvaez, who in 2 weeks makes his Bantamweight debut to face Nonito Donaire whilst the other champions include Rodrigo Guerrero (who recently won the IBF title), Tomonobu Shimizu (who won the WBA title just a few weeks ago), Tepparith Singwancha (interim WBA champion who upset the highly rated Drian Francisco) and Suriyan Sor Rungvisai (who scored a huge upset a few weeks back by defeating Tomas Rojas and defends his title in November against Nobuo Nashiro).
Rosas could join the ever growing list of Mexican world champions, but could he also actually be the best of them? We'll have to find out but one thing is for sure, he's an exciting and skilled fighter who will be near the top win or lose.
Monday, 3 October 2011
Grzegorz Proksa
Grzegorz Proksa, the Polish born British based middleweight alerted the world to his great potential this past weekend by completely dominating former IBF Middleweight champion Sebastian Sylvester. Sylvester refused to come out of his corner after 3 one sided rounds at the hands of the man dubbed "Super G".
Whilst Proksa may no longer be a "prospect" as such he was a fighter who was so alarmingly eye catching that he deserved a place in this blog based on his skill, performance and the way he has managed to remain under-the-radar until the Sylvester fight despite being so ultra talented. The 26 year old was born in Jaworzno, Poland though is now fighting out of Redhill in Surrey (UK) and has already fought all over the world in a career that has somehow not managed to get the attention that he has deserved.
Despite his UK and Polish backgrounds Proksa actually made his professional debut in the USA beating Adam Capo by TKO in the opening round on the undercard of a star studded card that included Jeff Lacy defending his IBF Super Middleweight title against Rubin Williams and Jose Luis Castillo defending the WBC Lightweight title against Julio Diaz. This was way back in 2005. Just months after the victory over Capo Proksa would be back fighting in the US when he would stop Sean Rawley Wilson in 2 rounds. Like on his debut the card was star studded with the infamous first fight between Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo headlining (a WBO and WBC Lightweight title unification) with Juan Manuel Marquez defending the IBF and WBA Super Featherweight titles against Victor Polo.
Over the following few years Proksa would begin to fight more regularly in the UK where he picked up both the IBF and WBC youth versions of the middleweight title. Then came a fight in Ireland and Germany and soon after he turned 25 he had added the EBU-EU (European Union) middleweight title to his belt collection. Although this belt was somewhat meaningless Proksa did defend it once, needing to go to Spain to defend it against the well regarded Spaniard Pablo Navascues. Proksa would stop Navascues in 9 rounds to defend his title and score, what was then, his biggest win.
Although people that had seen him live were big on him he was seen as the under-dog when he traveled to the Jahnsportforum in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern to face Sylvester. Sylvester was the home town favourite though it seemed straight from the off that the swift, accurate and exciting looking Proksa just simply had far too much for him. Proksa was landing clean accurate shots time and time again, boxing with his hands down low and repeatedly switching stances whilst toying with Sylvester. This was the performance of the night and the performance that saw Proksa become the European middleweight champion in excellent fashion.
Currently 26-0 (19) Proksa has already won fights in the USA, UK, Ireland, Germany and Spain and been featured on cards including the likes of Victor Ortiz, Manny Pacquiao, Jose Luis Castillo, Diego Corrales, Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Manuel Lopez. The way he is fighting at the moment Proksa may be having his name in those sorts of circles, with a fun to watch style, fast hands and surprising power.
Thanks to IGIELI for this video
Whilst Proksa may no longer be a "prospect" as such he was a fighter who was so alarmingly eye catching that he deserved a place in this blog based on his skill, performance and the way he has managed to remain under-the-radar until the Sylvester fight despite being so ultra talented. The 26 year old was born in Jaworzno, Poland though is now fighting out of Redhill in Surrey (UK) and has already fought all over the world in a career that has somehow not managed to get the attention that he has deserved.
Despite his UK and Polish backgrounds Proksa actually made his professional debut in the USA beating Adam Capo by TKO in the opening round on the undercard of a star studded card that included Jeff Lacy defending his IBF Super Middleweight title against Rubin Williams and Jose Luis Castillo defending the WBC Lightweight title against Julio Diaz. This was way back in 2005. Just months after the victory over Capo Proksa would be back fighting in the US when he would stop Sean Rawley Wilson in 2 rounds. Like on his debut the card was star studded with the infamous first fight between Diego Corrales and Jose Luis Castillo headlining (a WBO and WBC Lightweight title unification) with Juan Manuel Marquez defending the IBF and WBA Super Featherweight titles against Victor Polo.
Over the following few years Proksa would begin to fight more regularly in the UK where he picked up both the IBF and WBC youth versions of the middleweight title. Then came a fight in Ireland and Germany and soon after he turned 25 he had added the EBU-EU (European Union) middleweight title to his belt collection. Although this belt was somewhat meaningless Proksa did defend it once, needing to go to Spain to defend it against the well regarded Spaniard Pablo Navascues. Proksa would stop Navascues in 9 rounds to defend his title and score, what was then, his biggest win.
Although people that had seen him live were big on him he was seen as the under-dog when he traveled to the Jahnsportforum in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern to face Sylvester. Sylvester was the home town favourite though it seemed straight from the off that the swift, accurate and exciting looking Proksa just simply had far too much for him. Proksa was landing clean accurate shots time and time again, boxing with his hands down low and repeatedly switching stances whilst toying with Sylvester. This was the performance of the night and the performance that saw Proksa become the European middleweight champion in excellent fashion.
Currently 26-0 (19) Proksa has already won fights in the USA, UK, Ireland, Germany and Spain and been featured on cards including the likes of Victor Ortiz, Manny Pacquiao, Jose Luis Castillo, Diego Corrales, Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Manuel Lopez. The way he is fighting at the moment Proksa may be having his name in those sorts of circles, with a fun to watch style, fast hands and surprising power.
Thanks to IGIELI for this video
Tuesday, 20 September 2011
Richard Towers
The heavyweight scene in Britain seems to be rather interesting at the moment, in fact with David Haye mixing it with the world elite, Michael Sprott mixing it with the elite of Europe and a number of exciting prospects coming through Brits have a lot to be excited about. It's odd however that the Best British prospects are all incredibly tall, you have both David Price and Tyson Fury both around 6'8" or 6'9" and then you also have the very interesting Richard Towers who is also 6'8" and lacks hype of the other two men.
Towers, known as the Inferno, is much older than his other British giants at 32 years old and as a result has gone a bit under the radar though talent wise he is well ahead of the other two and has the skills and speed to match his impressive physical presence.
Like a number of notable boxers Tower's (real name Hayles) hasn't always been on the right side of the law, in fact Towers was sentenced to 13 in prison (serving over 6 of them) for kidnap and had had a number of other runs ins with the law as a teenager. Since then however Towers has turned his life around remarkably and matured from being somewhat thuggish into becoming a real model of a person by warning kids off the slippery slope he was once on as well as becoming a real force in the boxing ring.
Towers would make his professional boxing debut after prison and was aged 30 at the time, an advanced age for anyone to start their career, though Towers has gone quietly and efficiently about his new job since 2009. In his debut he defeated the experienced Chris Woollas by decision and did the same over Howard Daley the following month before going on an 8 fight KO streak as the impressive physical specimen showed he had the skill to go with the size.
Although 2010 was a bit of a wasted year in terms of actual action (Towers fought just twice for a combined 3 rounds) 2011 has seen Towers get back on track with 3 fights already and another coming up at the weekend. The most recent of those fights was against Belgian tough-man Ismail Abdoul who took Towers 8 rounds, with Towers pitching a shut out on the referees card.
Towers, currently at 11-0 (8) faces unbeaten Belorussian Yuri Bihoutseu (5-0-1, 5) this coming Saturday at the Ponds Forge Arena in his home city of Sheffield on the undercard of the televised SKY Sports card that also features Gary Buckland v Gary Sykes (British Super Featherweight title fight) and Rendall Munroe v Ryuta Miyagi. I expect Towers to be impressive in defeating the unbeaten power puncher personally, though hopefully Sky will show the highlights.
Towers has both the Ingle gym and Hatton Promotions behind him which are sure to help get the best from him and despite his age he may well be the best bet from the British giants.
Thanks to sheffieldhistory for the video above.
Towers, known as the Inferno, is much older than his other British giants at 32 years old and as a result has gone a bit under the radar though talent wise he is well ahead of the other two and has the skills and speed to match his impressive physical presence.
Like a number of notable boxers Tower's (real name Hayles) hasn't always been on the right side of the law, in fact Towers was sentenced to 13 in prison (serving over 6 of them) for kidnap and had had a number of other runs ins with the law as a teenager. Since then however Towers has turned his life around remarkably and matured from being somewhat thuggish into becoming a real model of a person by warning kids off the slippery slope he was once on as well as becoming a real force in the boxing ring.
Towers would make his professional boxing debut after prison and was aged 30 at the time, an advanced age for anyone to start their career, though Towers has gone quietly and efficiently about his new job since 2009. In his debut he defeated the experienced Chris Woollas by decision and did the same over Howard Daley the following month before going on an 8 fight KO streak as the impressive physical specimen showed he had the skill to go with the size.
Although 2010 was a bit of a wasted year in terms of actual action (Towers fought just twice for a combined 3 rounds) 2011 has seen Towers get back on track with 3 fights already and another coming up at the weekend. The most recent of those fights was against Belgian tough-man Ismail Abdoul who took Towers 8 rounds, with Towers pitching a shut out on the referees card.
Towers, currently at 11-0 (8) faces unbeaten Belorussian Yuri Bihoutseu (5-0-1, 5) this coming Saturday at the Ponds Forge Arena in his home city of Sheffield on the undercard of the televised SKY Sports card that also features Gary Buckland v Gary Sykes (British Super Featherweight title fight) and Rendall Munroe v Ryuta Miyagi. I expect Towers to be impressive in defeating the unbeaten power puncher personally, though hopefully Sky will show the highlights.
Towers has both the Ingle gym and Hatton Promotions behind him which are sure to help get the best from him and despite his age he may well be the best bet from the British giants.
Thanks to sheffieldhistory for the video above.
Andrzej Fonfara
When you think of Polish fighters the first names to come to mind are Tomasz Adamek and Andrew Golota, now ever feel free to add another name, Andrzej Fonfara. Fonfara, from Warsaw is currently based in Chicago and the 23 year old has already made a bit of impact in his new home thanks to a devastating KO earlier this year.
Born in late 1987 Fonfara would make his professional debut as just an 18 year old Welterweight defeating Miroslav Kubik in 2006 by majority decision in Poland. This was followed up by 3 more wins (1 by KO) all coming in the US before he suffered his first loss, losing a 5 round decision to Eberto Medina. By now it seemed obvious that Welterweight wasn't a suitable division for the growing 6'2" Pole who was filling out quickly.
After running up 6 straight wins Fonfara would suffer his second loss, this time being stopped by Derrick Findley in 2 rounds whilst fighting as a Middleweight. This loss was shown on ESPN Friday Night fights and perhaps exposed Fonfara as being a weak chinned having been down twice, though the 21 year old Fonfara was possibly drained at the time and Findley has a reputation as having a solid punch.
Since Fonfara's loss to Findley however he's filled out completely and has started to campaign at Light Heavyweight where he seems to have rounded out into a much better fighter and is unbeaten in his last 9 fights with his last 6 fights ending by KO. Though their is a problem with Fonfara and one that he may be slighted for. In 2009 after a 2nd TKO over Skyler Thompson Fonfara tested positive for illegal substance and that fight was turned into a No Contest. Since then however Fonfara hasn't failed a test and did spend 7 months out of action due to the suspension.
Fonfara may not be on the Light Heavyweight world title scene at the moment though he has won the WBC Youth World light heavyweight and the WBO NABO Light Heavyweight titles and he is climbing the rankings. This Friday Fonfara fights the experienced Jose Spearman in Chicago, a win will help establish Fonfara as a credible prospect.
The video below shows Fonfara's victory over Anthony Russell earlier this year (thanks to poltvchicago)
Born in late 1987 Fonfara would make his professional debut as just an 18 year old Welterweight defeating Miroslav Kubik in 2006 by majority decision in Poland. This was followed up by 3 more wins (1 by KO) all coming in the US before he suffered his first loss, losing a 5 round decision to Eberto Medina. By now it seemed obvious that Welterweight wasn't a suitable division for the growing 6'2" Pole who was filling out quickly.
After running up 6 straight wins Fonfara would suffer his second loss, this time being stopped by Derrick Findley in 2 rounds whilst fighting as a Middleweight. This loss was shown on ESPN Friday Night fights and perhaps exposed Fonfara as being a weak chinned having been down twice, though the 21 year old Fonfara was possibly drained at the time and Findley has a reputation as having a solid punch.
Since Fonfara's loss to Findley however he's filled out completely and has started to campaign at Light Heavyweight where he seems to have rounded out into a much better fighter and is unbeaten in his last 9 fights with his last 6 fights ending by KO. Though their is a problem with Fonfara and one that he may be slighted for. In 2009 after a 2nd TKO over Skyler Thompson Fonfara tested positive for illegal substance and that fight was turned into a No Contest. Since then however Fonfara hasn't failed a test and did spend 7 months out of action due to the suspension.
Fonfara may not be on the Light Heavyweight world title scene at the moment though he has won the WBC Youth World light heavyweight and the WBO NABO Light Heavyweight titles and he is climbing the rankings. This Friday Fonfara fights the experienced Jose Spearman in Chicago, a win will help establish Fonfara as a credible prospect.
The video below shows Fonfara's victory over Anthony Russell earlier this year (thanks to poltvchicago)
Friday, 9 September 2011
Wale Omotoso
It's not often that an Australian based boxer gets much hype on this site but Australian based Nigerian Wale Omotoso (18-0, 16) deserves his mention amongst the elite prospects.
Stood at 5'10" the powerfully built Welterweight debuted as a 21 year old back in 2006 though his career took quite some time to really get going. Despite stopping Singyok Sor Seesunt (TKO2) in September 2006 it would be 13 months later before Wale would fight again (stopping Ariel Omongos in 152 seconds). During 2008 however Wale was a busy boy and racked up 8 wins (6 by KO). Despite being dragged 10 rounds in his fight against Samuel Colomban, Wale would pick up the Australian Welterweight title and make his first real mark on the boxing public.
If 2008 was Wale's busy year 2009 was his real break out year and despite "only" 4 fights in the year. As Wale would score a very notable scalp as he stopped Emanuel Augustus in 9 rounds and picked up the OPBF welterweight title by defeating Hwan-Young Park of South Korea. The following year Wale added 3 more wins including stopping the known Juan Alberto Godoy of Argentina.
Wale is making his US debut tomorrow night on the Yuriorkis Gamboa v Daniel Ponce De Leon undercard where he faces experienced veteran Calvin Odom (15-10, 11). Whilst Omotoso is expected to win the bout it is the start of a new chapter in his career and hopefully we will see him regularly in the US.
Known as "Lucky Boy" Wale is seen by those down under as their top boxing prospect to have been fighting in Australia in a very long time and is one that the world should start paying attention to.
Stood at 5'10" the powerfully built Welterweight debuted as a 21 year old back in 2006 though his career took quite some time to really get going. Despite stopping Singyok Sor Seesunt (TKO2) in September 2006 it would be 13 months later before Wale would fight again (stopping Ariel Omongos in 152 seconds). During 2008 however Wale was a busy boy and racked up 8 wins (6 by KO). Despite being dragged 10 rounds in his fight against Samuel Colomban, Wale would pick up the Australian Welterweight title and make his first real mark on the boxing public.
If 2008 was Wale's busy year 2009 was his real break out year and despite "only" 4 fights in the year. As Wale would score a very notable scalp as he stopped Emanuel Augustus in 9 rounds and picked up the OPBF welterweight title by defeating Hwan-Young Park of South Korea. The following year Wale added 3 more wins including stopping the known Juan Alberto Godoy of Argentina.
Wale is making his US debut tomorrow night on the Yuriorkis Gamboa v Daniel Ponce De Leon undercard where he faces experienced veteran Calvin Odom (15-10, 11). Whilst Omotoso is expected to win the bout it is the start of a new chapter in his career and hopefully we will see him regularly in the US.
Known as "Lucky Boy" Wale is seen by those down under as their top boxing prospect to have been fighting in Australia in a very long time and is one that the world should start paying attention to.
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