Boxing writer believes Angulo will prevail
[BoxingGlove Notes]
Many times you don’t get what you want in a fight or who you want to see fight whom.
We’ve had to settle for Saul “El Canelo” Alvarez fighting a substitute opponent Alfredo “El Perro” Angulo tonight.
Surprisingly there is no title at stake; not even a bogus vacant one created by the fight Promoters.
This fight is billed as a grudge match because of the supposedly long standing dislike between the two Mexican fighters. This is really, in my opinion a sales pitch by the impresario of boxing Golden Boy Promotions’ C.E.O. Richard Schaefer. An attempt to build up the gate ticket sales since up to this date only 12, 000 had been sold in this 22,000 capacity arena, the house that Floyd Mayweather, Jr., built.
Even at the open to the public weigh-in there was a sparse crowd. Let’s study the stars of the pay-per-view 4-fight boxing extravaganza in the M.G.M. Grand Arena & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Saul Alvarez, 44-1-1, 30 knockouts, and former W.B.A., W.B.C. and Ring Magazine Light Middleweight Champion, the youngest of a Mexican boxing family, started fighting amateur at the age of 13 following his older brothers, Ramon, Ricardo and Rigoberto. The latter is a former W.B.A. Junior Middleweight Champ who lost his title to Austin “No Doubt” Trout.
Trout in turn lost the W.B.A. Crown back to the Alvarez family when Canelo Alvarez defeated him; Carnelo, in turn lost the title, plus his own two, to Floyd Mayweather, Jr.
Can Alvarez recapture the confident, aggressive ring generalship he’d always displayed prior to the Mayweather loss? Many don’t think so and feel he is still shell-shocked from the embarrassing boxing beating he received from Mayweather. I stated in a previous Black Star column, that he had “chosen” Alfredo Angulo as an opponent; an easier path to redemption because of Angulo’s two knockout losses and the traumatic experience of being jailed for over a year, away from his family, and facing deportation due to an expired work visa violation.
In other words, Canelo is losing more than he will win by fighting Angulo; this doesn’t even factor in if he actually does lose the fight itself as many are predicting. The fight itself is not a financial sell-out because people feel that Angulo, although a former world champ, is not an elite fighter like Miguel Cotto, for example.
Cotto refused to fight Alavarez for a purse of over $10 million plus pay-per-view and agreed to fight Middleweight Champion, Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez instead. That fight is scheduled for Saturday, June 7, 2014, in Madison Square Garden, on the eve of the Puerto Rican Day Parade. Many felt as I did that the most logical opponent after Cotto’s refusal should’ve been Cuban defector, Arislandy Lara, who actually knocked out Angulo — he recently defeated Austin Trout by a unanimous decision.
These are the crossword puzzle decisions made by fight promoters trying keep the fight fans going through the arena turnstiles non-stop. It is all about the money.
On the other side of the ring there is Alfredo Angulo, 22-3, 18 knockouts, former Olympian who sees this fight as an opportunity to redeem himself after suffering those two knockouts, especially the recent k.o. loss to Lara. In that fight Angulo had scored two vicious knockdowns over Lara and seemed to be well on his way to an upset win. Then he suffered a severe orbital fracture above his left eye, in the 10th round, and literally turned his back on Lara and quit. Many fans considered that as an act of cowardice, and booed. To this day many have not forgiven him, and that is why they don’t want this fight.
To insure a victory Alfredo Angulo has joined top trainer Virgil Hunter who in- turn hired top Russian Track Coach, Remy Kochemi, to teach Angulo speed by having him run track, like a racer, and leap over hurdles. “One of Angulo’s problems even though he is a hard knockout puncher is that he has lacked the speed and reflexes to deliver those punches,” Hunter said. “I am also teaching him more defensive skills than he had before, so, Canelo is in for a surprise.”
Both fighters complied with the contracted weight agreement of 155 pounds. Alvarez weighed in at exactly 155 pounds and Angulo tipped the scales at 154 and ½ pounds.
So which one of these two desperate fighters-Alvarez or Angulo- will win so that the loser can get back on the road to perdition?
I am going out on a limb and picking Alfredo Angulo simply because of Virgil Hunter and Angulo’s rock hard punching power to the head and body. This will be a new experience for Alvarez.
The pressure is very much on Alvarez’ shoulders since he has been groomed to be the heir apparent to Oscar De La Hoya as the next Golden Boy, and in his last outing he failed to live up to that expectation.
The fight billed as “Toe to Toe”. It could very well turn out to be a phone booth toe-to-toe war. Each knows his boxing future hangs in the
balance of this fight.
I feel that Angulo being the harder puncher and under the tutelage of Virgil Hunter will emerge victorious maybe by knockout.
So, my dear Black Star News readers I put myself in your cross hairs to be criticized. What do you think? Challenge me and my predictions, and tell me why I am wrong.
Don’t forget these upcoming boxing glove dates:
1) Danny “Swift” Garcia, W.B.A. & W.B.C. & Ring Magazine 140 Pound Champion vs. Mauricio Herrera—March 15th , 2014 in Bayamon, Puerto Rico
2) Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao vs. Timothy “Dessert Storm” Bradley, W.B.O. 147 pound Champion—Saturday, April 12, 2014, MGM Grand arena, Las Vegas
3) Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins, I.B.F. Light Heavyweight vs. Beibut Shumenov, W.B.A. & I.B.A. 175 Lb. Champion, Saturday, April 19, 2014, Washington, D.C.
Semi-final: Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin, W.B.O. Middleweight Champion, vs. Lucas Konecny
4) Floyd Mayweather, Jr. 10 time, World Champion vs. Marcos Maidana, W.B.A. 147 Pound Champion, Saturday, May 2rd , 2914, MGM Grand Arena, Las Vegas
5) Sergio “Maravilla” Martinez, Ring Magazine & W.B.C. Middleweight Champion vs. Miguel Cotto, Saturday, June 7, 2014, Madison Square Garden.
