What are you doing for the best part of the next two weeks? Probably not watching boxing, because there ain’t much on until the Friday after next. Instead, you could build a giant, three dimensional stack of dominoes. Or take some time to hang out with your family and loved ones. I dunno, whatever you’re into I guess.
- Ivan Calderon vs. Moises Fuentes, Saturday, Integrated Sports Pay-Per-View, Bayamon Puerto Rico. What was once a very fun card with a junior featherweight fight, Wilfredo Vazquez, Jr. vs. Rafael Marquez as the highlight is now just an OK card with a strawweight bout, Ivan Calderon and Moises Fuentes, as the highlight. At 37, Calderon (35-2-1) just isn’t the masterful southpaw boxer he once was. These days he can be found and forced to trade, which is very bad news for a fighter with no power to speak of and a tendency to cut. He’s back trying his luck at strawweight after an unsuccessful campaign at junior flyweight. Fuentes (15-1) isn’t a bad fighter, but his chances in this fight largely depend on how far Calderon has slipped. The Mexican isn’t a Giovanni Segura-esque pressure machine, but he’s kind of herky-jerky and knows how to throw a hard right hand, always a plus against a southpaw. Vazquez (21-2-1) is looking to bounce back after a split decision loss to Nonito Donaire. His fall guy is Jonathan Oquendo (22-2), who, as fall guys go, isn’t bad. He’s no Marquez, but he’s gutsy; he got himself knocked out by Juan Manuel Lopez in 2008 by taking the fight to the slugger. Shouldn’t lack for contact, then.
- The Rest. Top junior flyweights Kompayak Porpramook (46-3) and Adrien Hernandez (24-2-1) are having a do over in Mexico of their 2011 fight in Thailand, which Porpramook won… Zaurbek Baysangurov (27-1) and Lukas Konecny (48-3) also fight Saturday, in Kiev for some junior middleweight alphabet strap… Liverpool hosts a lightweight “Prizefighter” tournament on the same night which includes some of Britain’s top lightweights, including Derry Matthews and Anthony Crolla… Strawweights Takuya Mitamura (12-0) and Jesus Silvestre (25-3) fight in Silvestre’s hometown of Tepic, Mexico Saturday. Silvestre’s name means “Wild Jesus” in Spanish, yet his nickname is “Jose Negrito,” or “Little Black Joseph.” Perplexing.
