Exciting night of fights last night. While berto and Ortiz was sloppy, it was non stop action and likely top 5 for fight of the year. Ortiz looked like he really carried the move up in weight well. His chin was much sturdier and his stamina was a lot better. I thought he could have had Berto out between 4 and 6 if he had went to his body. Berto was doing nothing but loading up on his straight right hand all night. Big win for Ortiz as the way he went to war erases memories from the maidana and Lamont Peterson fights. Berto is a different story. This was reminiscant of his fight with Collazo (although ortiz is a much bigger puncher) and didn't do anything to squash the rumblings that he has no chin. Berto's inability to take a punch is always going to be a problem, because he loads up on his right leaving himself wide open for counters and short hooks and constantly drops his hands. JuanMa/Salido was equally entertaining with the exception of being marred by what I thought was a terrible stoppage. While it's being called an upset, it's not a huge shock to many who had seen Salido fight before. He's a brawler with a sturdy chin and good punching power who can do a ton of damage if you let him get inside. Juanma started the fight great. keeping him on the outside working behind his jab and setting up his power shots. salido took them well and just kept coming forward winging big shots. Juanma did what he always does and was sucked into a brawl that he didn't need to be in. It's no secret he has no chin and has been in trouble in almost every one of his last few fiights with guys who can crack. I love juanma's warrior spirit as he was attempting to fire back shots all while getting tagged and clearly out on hsi feet, but it led to him taking more punishment when he should have been holding on and collecting himself until the end of the round. that said, he was still fighting back and as a champ he should have been allowed to continue (especially in his own backyard). I can't recall ever seeing a ref step in and stop a fight when a guy just got finished throwing a punch back at his opponent. This has interesting implications in regards to the gamboa/Juanma fight we were discussing a week or so ago. While Arum was clearly in no hurry to put his cash cow (Juanma) in with Yuri at the time, this loss may actually do more to move towards that. It's clear that juanma's chin isn't going to hold up against elite punchers and that will prevent him from being anything more then an exciting action fighter with great pop, so Arum may cash in the big payday against Gamboa now. It gets Juanma a huge payday (and he can fight a tuneup on the same card/day as Yuri to generate more interest in the fight) and could really vault gamboa into more of a mainstream star.
Agree with everything except with Juanma not having a chin. Are you kidding me dude? This guy takes bomb after bomb in almost every fight he's had in the past couple of years and has found a way to win. Even that one fight with Mtagwa where he was basically knocked out on his feet and still didn't go down. Perhaps it's his legs that are strong enough to keep him up. Last night was the first time I had ever seen him down. I think Juanma can take punishment BUT he takes it without having to. If he tightens up his defense then he will be a lot better I think. He gets hit with **** he shouldn't be getting hit with. I definitely saw Juanma out of it last night, he wasn't sharp, he seemed slower and he was getting hit more often than usual. He's better than that, but oh well everyone has an off night I guess. I didn't think Gamboa would be able to beat him, but after last night I think Gamboa would overwhelm him due to the speed of the punches. Not to mention the power. Only thing I see with Gamboa is once he gets his opponent hurt, he starts going ape **** throwing wild punches in close, which could leave him open for a clean uppercut. Gamboa also likes to beat people on the back of the head when that happens. Anyway, definitely makes things interesting now. In both the featherweight and welterweight divisions with Ortiz also becoming a new champ also. I love boxing.
He gets hurt with shots that he shouldn't. I don't mean glass chin like kirkland where he goes down. I mean ban chin as he gets wobbled and stunned by a lot of shots he shouldn't be. If Mtgwa had had anything left in the tnak he would have finished him. he definitely need to tighten his defense but i don't see it happening. They have been trying to get him to do that for over a year now and he gets drawn into the same situations. great for boxing fans as it makes for exciting fights but I think it will cost him a lot of fights (especially when he moves up). No question Gamboa would have to pounce on Juanma with controlled agression or he could easily get caught coming in. That said, gamboa's defense and head movement looked much better last fight. I have to assume that he'd be extra cautious with a fighter like Juanma who can crack with both hands. I think it would be a hagler/hears type fight with both guys just trading bombs until one goes. i'm thinking it will be juanma laying on the canvas in the end. Definitely makes it interesting. We've had a nice, consistant string of fights so far. helps make up for the terrible 2010. I feel you on that. not a sport in the world I'd rather watch
i don't, but HBO should be replaying the Berto/Ortiz fight quite a bit. Showtime is normally a lot slower with their replays
