1/11 Preview and Review

Last week was decent but not great.
Brian's pick Viloria, I pick Viloria, Winner Viloria
Brian's pick Rosales, I pick Rosales, Winner Rosales
Brian's pick Mesquita, I pick Peterson, Winner Peterson
Brian's pick Peterson, I pick Peterson, Winner Peterson
Brian's pick Raheem, I pick Raheem, Winner Raheem
Brian's pick Green, I pick Green, Winner Green
Brian's pick Johnson, I pick Johnson, Winner Johnson
Brian's pick Malignaggi, I pick Ngoudjo, Winner Malignaggi
Viloria looked really big and he did not look great, but he had enough to win. Rosales looked good in an early stoppage. Esalas looked like he was just glad to be there. Lamont Peterson pretty much shut out Mesquita and looked a lot better than Anthony, who, when he didn't get an early knockout looked lost. He finally got it back together and did get the KO, though. Raheem looked very sharp in a 1st rnd KO. Green was looking for a KO and didn't get it, but he looked good for the 8 rounds my tivo allowed me to watch. Showtime inexplicably did not televise the Johnson-Pineda fight, but Johnson won by KO. Ngoudjo gave Malignaggi a good run. I had the fight very close, but Malignaggi won the decision. I went 7-1, and so did the Brian's.
This week sees a bit less action, just two Friday night cards by the regulars. In the Telefutura co-feature, Vicente Escobedo vs. Pascali Adorno in a 10 round Lightweight fight. Escobedo fights out of Woodland, CA. He is 15-1-0 and 26 years old. He was the 2003 US Champion and fought for the US in the 2004 Olympics. In his last fight, he won a unanimous decision against a solid Miguel Angel Munguia in October. I have seen him fight five times. He seems a bit raw but he has good power and he is getting better. His best opponent so far has been Daniel Jimenez and he lost that fight. This should not be a fight as tough as that one. He is rated 127th in the All-Time Lightweight ratings and 45th in the Actives. Adorno fights out of Morovis, Puerto Rico. He is 10-6-2 and 25 years old. His last fight was a 1st round TKO loss to a good but not spectacular Tyrone Harris in June. I have never seen him fight, but he has fought some decent folks, Tyrone Harris, Lamont Pearson, Jose Leo Cruz, Almazbek Raiymkulov, Miguel Huerta, Daniel Jimenez, and Rocky Juarez. The only problem is that he hasn't beaten any of them. I don't see him changing that. He is rated 166th in the All-Time Lightweight ratings and 81st in the Active ratings. The Brian's say Escobedo 759.1 over Adorno 595.8. This is the highest rated fighter Adorno has faced. Give me Escobedo.
In the Telefutura Main Event we revisit Sergio Mora in a 10 round Middleweight fight against Rito Ruvalcaba. Mora was born in and fights out of East LA. He is 19-0-1 and 27 years old. He was the winner of the first season of The Contender. His last fight was a tough draw against a good Elvin Ayala. I have seen him fight 7 times. He is quick, has little power but good boxing skills, and decent defense. I think he has made some questionable decisions about his fights, passing up an opportunity to fight Jermain Taylor for the Middleweight championship. While he might have been the underdog, he would have been fighting for the belt, which has to be better than not. It seems to have worked out OK for Peter Manfredo, who went to Wales to get thumped by Joe Calzaghe. Some soldi names on the resume, Eric Regan, Archak Ter-Meliksetian, Peter Manfredo twice, Ayala, Jesse Brinkley, and Ishe Smith. He is rated 127 in the All-Time Middleweight ratings and 16 in the Active ratings. Ruvalcaba was born and fights out of Tijuana. He is 32-8-0 and 33 years old. His last fight was September of 2004 and it was a first round knockout loss to a strong Jose Luis Zertuche. I have seen him fight once, unmemorably. He has some good names on the roster, Zertuche, Epifanio Mendoza, Regan (who beat him), William Joppy, and Yory Boy Campas to name a few. He is rated 166th on the All-Time Middleweight list and if he were active, he would be rated 52nd on the Active list. The Brian's say Mora 896.4 beats Ruvalcaba 742.2. This appears to be Mora looking to beat a guy with a good name and a good record but who is not a threat to his unbeaten streak. And, I think Ruvalcaba is not a threat. I'll take Mora.
The other card, on ESPN promisese to deliver some quickies. We start with Jean Pascal and Omar Pittman in a 10 round Super Middleweight bout. Pascal was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and fights out of Laval, Canada. He is 20-0-0 and 25 years old. He was a Canadian National Champion 7 times and fought for Canada in the 2004 Olympics. His last fight was almost a whitewash against a decent Brian Norman at the beginning of December. I have seen him fight three times and he didn't look great, but he has fairly heavy hands and decent movement. He has beaten some name guys, Kingsley Ikeke, Jermain Mackey, and James Crawford being the best. He is currently rated 48th in the All-Time Super Middleweight ratings and 26th in the Active ratings. Pittman fights out of Philly. He is 15-3-1 and 25 years old. His last two fights have been split decision wins over a marginal Demetrius Davis, one in May the other in October. I have seen him fight once, unmemorably and he has not ever fought anybody who was any good. He is currently rated 179th on the All-Time Light Heavyweight ratings and 70th on the Active ratings. Another keep busy learning fight for Pascal, a major step up for Pittman. Look for pascal to look good on TV. The Brian's say Pascal 854.0 over Pittman 681.3. I'll also take Pascal.
The main event gives us Edison Miranda vs. David Banks in a 10 round Super Middleweight fight. Miranda was born in Buenaventura, Colombia and fights out of Carolina, Puerto Rico. He is 29-2-0 and 27 years old. He was a Colombian National Champion three times. His last fight was a 5th round TKO over the good but not great Henry Porras in October. I have seen him fight four times. He is a bit unorthodox, a bit raw, not a lot of skill, but man, what power. He is totally a knockout artist. He can't fight going backward, though. He has fought a lot of good folks, losing to Kelly Pavlik and Arthur Abraham, current World Champs, and beating Allan Green, Willie Gibbs, Howard Eastman, and Porras. 4 of his last 5 wins have been by KO. He is rated 64th All-Time at Light Heavyweight and 13th in the Active ratings. Banks was born in Ohio and fights out of Portland, OR. He is 15-3-1 and 24 years old. He was a recent participant in The Contender. His last fight was a majority decision over the fair Donnie McCrary in November. I have seen his last four fights. He is a boxer, but he is still developing his skills. Not great, but a good athlete. He has almost no power. We'll see how his chin is. He has some above average names on his roster, McCrary, Paul Smith, Peter Manfredo, and Eromosele Albert in recent days. He is rated 101st in the All-Time ratings and 67 in the Active ratings. This is Banks capitalizing on his Contender fame to get a good fight, but he is in way over his head. Miranda will get some pub by crushing a guy with name recognition. The Brian's say Miranda 918.3 over Banks 751.6. I'll take Miranda and it won't be close.
To review, the Brian's pick:
Escobedo---------I pick Escobedo
Mora-------------I pick Mora
Pascal------------I pick Pascal
Miranda----------I pick Miranda
And if you're choosing between the two, I would suggest ESPN for the more exciting card.