{"id":17781,"date":"2012-01-11T00:00:59","date_gmt":"2012-01-11T05:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=17781"},"modified":"2012-01-11T09:06:32","modified_gmt":"2012-01-11T14:06:32","slug":"breakthrough-boxing-stars-part-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=17781","title":{"rendered":"Breakthrough Boxing Stars, Part II"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>By Gina L. Caliboso<\/strong><\/p>\n

In my previous article titled, \u201cBreakthrough Boxing Stars, Part I,\u201d I tackled two categories: Fighters Missing in Action and Fighters on the Verge of a Breakthrough.<\/p>\n

Over the weekend, Andre \u201cMatrix\u201d Dirrell, 20-1, 14 KO\u2019s, made a successful return to the ring with a 2nd round KO over Darryl Cunningham, 24-3, 10 KO\u2019s. On the same card, another survivor of the Super Six Middleweight tourney, Jermain \u201cBad Intentions\u201d Taylor, 29-4, 18 KO\u2019s, also earned an 8th round KO over Jessie Nicklow, 22-3, 8 KO\u2019s.<\/p>\n

With these two fights, both Dirrell and Taylor serve as potential opponents in their respective weight divisions. Now, as a Part II, I\u2019d like to consider two additional categories about boxers and fights today \u2013 Fighters That Can\u2019t Get a Fight and Fighters Facing an Identity Crisis.<\/p>\n

Fighters That Can\u2019t Get a Fight:<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Sergio \u201cMaravilla\u201d Martinez, 48-2-2, 27 KO\u2019s:<\/strong><\/p>\n

As the #1 ranked middleweight, Martinez remains unchallenged. His last loss came against Paul Williams back in 2009 where he lost in a 12 round MD. Since then, there hasn\u2019t been anyone that comes even close to competing against him. After Williams, he\u2019s remained undefeated; however, the officials seem to like vacating his belts. Martinez is set to fight against Matthew Macklin in March. As you look at the division, two of my Fighters on the Verge of a breakthrough include Julio Cesar Chavez, JR and Andy Lee. Chavez, JR and Andy Lee would make stellar opponents. But we\u2019ll see if anyone dare fight Martinez. Even at 36, Martinez looks good and he\u2019s on a 4 fight win streak from the last two years as both Lee and Chavez, JR are just beginning to show their talent.<\/p>\n

Timothy \u201cDesert Storm\u201d Bradley, 28-0, 12 KO\u2019s:<\/strong><\/p>\n

As the #1 ranked light welterweight, Bradley remains undefeated in one of the more talent filled divisions to date. In the light welterweight mix, there\u2019s Lamont Peterson (ranked #2), Amir Khan (ranked #3), and followed by Argentine Marcos Maidana (ranked #4). Peterson and Khan are already set to rematch later this year.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, #5 ranked Devon Alexander will go up against my \u2018don\u2019t ever underestimate\u2019 boxer, Maidana. From these matchups, Bradley, with all his hype and as the current WBO light welterweight titleholder is unable get a fight. He had called out both Khan and even Pacquiao, and had a snooze of a fight against Alexander. He also fought against a fighter who I thought retired, Joel Casamayor and easily defeated Casamayor with an 8th round TKO. Protecting his record perhaps? There has to be more as to why he can\u2019t get a fight.<\/p>\n

Saul \u201cCanelo\u201d Alvarez, 39-0, 29 KO\u2019s<\/strong><\/p>\n

The baby-faced bull nicknamed \u201cCanelo\u201d (Cinnamon) is a young 21 year old, but looking at his record and as the current WBC Light Middleweight titleholder, it looks as if he\u2019s more seasoned (bad pun intended). Alvarez is one of the more popular Mexican athletes. I\u2019d put him up there with Lucian Bute\u2019s popularity in Canada. But Alvarez does not fit the mold of the classic, strong hold Mexican fighter to the likes of Julio Cesar Chavez or even Juan Manuel Marquez. Alvarez is strong, stands very upright, and is extremely powerful. Alvarez can also be a very slow and deliberate fighter and by the end of the first three rounds, he connects so solidly that one good hit and his opponent is done. You cannot deny his record of 39 wins with 29 being earned by KO. As the #2 ranked light middleweight, a fight with Cotto is surely in his future.<\/p>\n

Fighters Facing an Identity Crisis<\/strong><\/p>\n

By identity crisis, I\u2019m addressing the possibility that each of the fighters that I mention below, are facing some sort of crossroads about where their boxing careers may or may not take them. I chose these 3 because I thought about their recent performances where their body language looked defeated to a degree, or even frustrated, about trust in their own talent. However, I do think that it\u2019s the feeling of defeat that a fighter must immediately shake off.<\/p>\n

\u201cVicious\u201d Victor Ortiz, 29-3-2, 22 KO\u2019s<\/strong><\/p>\n

I continue to have high hopes for Ortiz. In his fight against Mayweather JR., a fight I didn\u2019t order, Ortiz looked lost when it came to matching up against Mayweather\u2019s boxing style. Ortiz was way over his head and lacked certainty and intention when he fought. The \u2018head-butt\u2019 in the corner looked deliberate, a cheap shot almost, and it went downhill for both fighters in that bout. Ortiz had a great fight against Berto last year and the two are set to fight again this year. But for Ortiz, he\u2019s facing that same road when he had called it quits in a previous bout. I root for Ortiz to never lose his spirit. And given how he uplifted himself and his brother in life, he should take that same strength and fortitude and work on his strength to fight and box. He showed he can fight and he has all the physical attributes, but he needs to be mentally tougher and become a champion.<\/p>\n

Vic \u201cRaging Bull\u201d Darchinyan, 37-4, 27 KO\u2019s<\/strong><\/p>\n

I absolutely love Darchinyan\u2019s bull rush and overwhelming style of boxing. However, in his last bout against Moreno, Darchinyan has never done well against fighters that didn\u2019t seem the least bit intimidated by his style. As he is getting older, Darchinyan must evolve his boxing style in order to continue fighting. Even as he defeated Mares back in 2010 to become the IBO Bantamweight titleholder, he\u2019s been fairly inconsistent in his performances. Darchinyan can perhaps take a lesson in longevity from Bernard Hopkins. Should Darchinyan continue to fight at bantamweight and as the super bantamweight division becomes Donaire\u2019s division, he should develop another side to his boxing to rejuvenate a style that can easily be defeated by a jab and technical savvy.<\/p>\n

Carl \u201cCobra\u201d Froch, 28-2, 20 KO\u2019s<\/strong><\/p>\n

Froch had an excellent showing in the Super Six tournament and made it to the finals against Andre \u201cS.O.G.\u201d Ward. In his first fight against Dirrell, he didn\u2019t particular impress me, but he always did manage to show he had good ring sense about him. He\u2019s an extremely intelligent fighter, but he definitely rides on a strong wave of confidence. He does not always start out immediately, but as the fight continues, he does get stronger, more intentional with his attack, but when he\u2019s down, he\u2019s very down. Against Ward, he didn\u2019t look as strong. But again, Ward stepped up and beat Froch with every punch. Froch looked extremely tired against Ward. His last two losses were also 12 round unanimous decisions (against Kessler and Ward). With the tournament behind him, Froch must carefully decide who his next opponent will be. It could very well be against Dirrell again. The super middleweight division is hardly empty of any potential matchups for Froch.<\/p>\n

So, there you have it. It\u2019s 2012, the year is young \u2013 anything can happen. As we settle in to what I expect to be a boxing year of surprises, I hope the fighters I\u2019ve mentioned in Part II and I emerge and prove me wrong. With boxing\u2019s current pool of talent, I expect great things. But I wouldn\u2019t be a boxing fan if I didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Gina L. Caliboso In my previous article titled, \u201cBreakthrough Boxing Stars, Part I,\u201d I tackled two categories: Fighters Missing in Action and Fighters on the Verge of a Breakthrough. Over the weekend, Andre \u201cMatrix\u201d Dirrell, 20-1, 14 KO\u2019s, made a successful return to the ring with a 2nd round KO over Darryl Cunningham, 24-3, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[105],"class_list":["post-17781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-boxing-news","tag-boxing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17781"}],"version-history":[{"count":-2,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17781\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}