JR. MIDDLEWEIGHT FIGHT AT STAPLES CENTER
Los Angeles, CA– Saturday night, the boxing establishment has blessed the world with another PPV fight. This means another $50 that boxing freaks, fans or marks, whichever way you’d like to categorize them, will have to shell out for a night of boxing. Former WBA welterweight (147 lbs) champion “Sugar Shane” Mosley (46-6 39 KOs), after a lackluster effort against Floyd Mayweather (L12) in May, goes against Contender Season One victor, East LA native Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora (22-1-1, 6 KOs) from the Staples Center here in the City of Angels.
WHERE HAS THE SNAKE BEEN OF LATE?
Mora may have lost some of the momentum he gained when he won the $1 million prize on the Contender. He has been relatively inactive since, fighting only once this year, and not at all in 2009 searching for a big payday. He finally gets it against a 39 year old Mosley. Sergio who has fought most of his career between 154 and 160 pounds is the younger and naturally bigger man. To add to the difficulty that Mosley should have in this bout is that Mora is extremely elusive, awkward and not the easiest foe to hit and has an unorthodox style. Shane’s lethargic outing against Mayweather had much to do with Floyd, but it also had to do with age and an inability to pull the trigger. While the East LA native is somewhat slick, he is a real fighter, and contrary to what some writers and experts think and despite Mora’s lack of punching power this should be a good fight. Whether or not it belongs on PPV is a conversation for another day.
BALDOMIR MEETS STUD UNDERNEATH
The undercard features a coming out party of sorts for hyped Mexican prospect Saul “Canelo(Cinnamon)” Alvarez (33-0-1, 25 KOs). Red haired, and extremely popular, he is expected and being groomed to be the next Mexican boxing superstar. He faces the always rugged, but limited former welterweight king Arentina’s Carlos Baldomir (45-12-6, 14KOs) in a bout waged at 154 pounds. His being 39 and a lack of punching power is probably the reason for the assignment, but Baldo has a wealth of experience and will give it all. Alvarez is 22, and while he has a lot of fights on his resume, he hasn’t faced anywhere near the level of Baldomir. A lack of solid skills and speed are also a reason for this selection of opponent. With an iron chin it should be expected that the Argentinean will last the distance and should have some moments but is realistically being brought in to give the young man experience against a solid veteran.
BATTLE OF TWO “VICIOUS” FIGHTERS
Junior welterweight (140) prospect “Vicious” Victor Ortiz (27-2-1, 21 KOs) continues his rise to the top of the division against former belt holder “Vicious” Vivian Harris (29-4-1, 19 KOs). While both sport the “Vicious” nickname, neither has been vicious in their recent bouts. Harris has been stopped three times in his career and was knocked out in his last outing. Ortiz is still coming back from an upset KO defeat to WBA junior welterweight interim champion Marcos Maidaina (29-1, 27 KOs). Ortiz, known as a big puncher, has seemed gun shy since then and looks to use a past prime Harris as a confidence builder. The 32 year old Harris is past his prime but still has good hand speed and power even though he has questionable whiskers. This should turn out to be a clear win for Ortiz, but it will be interesting to see if Harris goes the distance.
BEST FIGHT ON CARD IS AT 126?
In what is anticipated to be the most competitive and exciting match on the card pits two top ten ranked featherweights (126). Hard punching former WBO junior featherweight (122) champion Mexico’s Daniel Ponce De Leon (39-2, 32 KOs) faces notable prospect and boxer puncher El Paso’s Antonio Escalante (24-2, 15 KOs). De Leon is a crude brawler who sometimes tries to box, however doesn’t seem as comfortable or capable of doing so consistently. Antonio is a prizefighter that seems to be improving, and has a fan friendly style. He can equally box or brawl. The bout is a WBC title eliminator and both are worthy of the opportunity. De Leon’s last defeat was a knockout loss in one round to current WBO featherweight (126) titleholder Juan Manuel Lopez 29-0, 26 KOs). Escalante is on ten fight winning streak spanning over 3 years. De Leon can be a bit one dimensional, and while this should be a close bout Escalante appears to have more tools. A common opponent is veteran Cornelius Lock (19-6-1, 12 KOs). Escalante won a comfortable unanimous decision winning every round on two judges cards over Lock in 2009. De Leon had more of a struggle winning a close decision over Lock in May. Expect the El Paso fighter to win a hard fought 12 round decision.
Kevin Perry