Young heavyweight guns shooting this weekend

By Janne Romppainen

25.09 - An excellent fight night is set for the next Saturday, 27th of September. A heavyweight triple-header that includes six interesting, promising fighters from the division fighting against each other is certainly worth of watching. As we all know, the heavyweight division isn’t actually flooded by talented young fighters who it would sorely need. After Saturday, we should have three up-and-comers one notch closer to the top-10 and big fights.

Even though all the combatants are still relatively untested, the expectations that we are going to see some new stars born are surely high. When anticipating this card many fight fans have recalled the triple-header of the heavyweight hopefuls that was held seven years ago in 1996. On that night, a newcomer called David Tua scored a 19-second knockout over another rising star John Ruiz. Also a big Polish fighter called Andrew Golota knocked out Danell Nicholson in a brutal fight. In the big upset of the evening, the little-heralded Darrol Wilson blasted out the fighter who was supposed to be the best of the group, Shannon Briggs. All the fights brought the viewers excitement and no less than four out of the six fighters went on to compete for championships later. If this card comes even close to that showing, we should have a great boxing night ahead of us..

All the three bouts of the evening are scheduled for tens rounds. In the first of them, the Nigerian Duncan Dokiwari faces one of the hottest prospects of the moment, Dominick Guinn, who shone in his last fight earlier this year by beating the one-time world-title challenger Michael Grant. Dokiwari at 29 years of age is not a youngster anymore but this will be the first time he clearly steps up in class. Dokiwari boasts an impressive physique, standing at 6’4 and weighing approximately 240lbs for the bout. Dokiwari has a solid record of 22-1, with 19 wins coming inside the distance. His lone loss came back in 1999 when another rising star, the recent IBF title challenger Fres Oquendo outpointed him over six rounds. Dokiwari seems to carry a good punch but his chin hasn’t really been tested yet and he has some lapses in his techniques.

His opponent, Dominick Guinn is a year younger fighter and at 6’3, 220lbs has a slight disadvantage in size. Guinn’s record is unblemished at 22-0, with 17 opponents stopped. The impressive, four-knockdown victory over Michael Grant was the fight that raised him above most other prospects but despite that fight, the list of his opponents seems somewhat more impressive than Dokiwari’s. Apart from one fight, Guinn has usually been winning his fights rather easily. The only opponent who gave him plenty of problems and only lost a close split decision was a veteran journeyman called Garing Lane. Guinn has demonstrated in his fights that he possesses good basic technique and most of all very good handspeed for a heavyweight. He is not a bone-breaking knockout artist but he can still crack some and produce knockouts with either hand.

The struggle against Lane might give Guinn something to worry about as he is facing now a bigger, stronger and fresher fighter than Lane was. Despite that, my scale tips for Guinn. I expect him to outfight his bigger and clumsier foe on inside and wear him down somewhere around the sixth round.

In the second fight of the night, the Cuban former WBC cruiserweight champion of the world Juan Carlos Gomez meets the reigning European heavyweight champ Sinan Samil Sam of Turkey. Gomez has fought most of his career in the cruiserweight division which he more or less dominated in the late 90s and in the beginning of the new millennium. Now Gomez, standing at 6’3 ½ and weighing a little over 220lbs in his last fight is a full-fledged heavyweight and he looks to be a force among the big boys. The southpaw Gomez has gathered a highly impressive record of 36-0, 31 knockouts but of course the list is not totally comparable with other heavyweight fighters. Gomez has had three fights in the heavyweight, most notable of them being an easy fifth-round stoppage over veteran Alfred Cole back in 2001. Technically Gomez might already be among the very best of the division, he moves smoothly, blocks and slips punches well and delivers his own shots with good form and speed. His punching power was also very good in the 190-pounders but now that, among his punch resistance will be tested on a new level.

Standing across the ring will be, if the bout is not cancelled, Sinan Samil Sam. There have been rumours lately about Sam not being able to fight but at the moment the fight seems to be ready to materialize. Sam is already 29 years old himself but he is still a new name in professional sense as he has fought as a pro only for three years and the amount of his fights, 18, is only half of the times his opponent has stepped inside the ring. Sam has a solid amateur background behind him however. Back in 1999 he won the super heavyweight world amateur champion and gathered a record of 217-18 during his first career. As a professional he won the European title in his 15th bout by stopping the Polish Przemyslaw Saleta in 2002. His most notable victory came in his next fight as he stopped the highly-regarded British hopeful Danny Williams in five rounds. In his latest fight he stopped another Brit as he pounded out the veteran Julius Francis in a workman-like performance. Sam’s record stands now at 18-0 with eleven knockouts. Sam has a good technique and a vast experience due his amateur career. His hands are pretty fast for a heavyweight but in this fight he doesn’t seem to have an edge in that category. Even though his knockout percentage is nothing special, he has stopped his last five opponents which indicates that he does carry a solid punch.

This is a bout where two well-schooled technicians face each other. Sam is the naturally bigger man whereas Gomez is the smoother and faster fighter. In my opinion this is a very evenly-matched couple but if I invested money for this, I’d probably put that on Gomez’ decision victory.

In the most anticipated clash of the evening, the hometown crowd favourite and perhaps the most advertised American young hopeful Joe Mesi faces his countryman DaVarryl Williamson. “Baby” Joe Mesi is 29-year old fighter out of Buffalo, NY. His record stands a perfect 26-0 with 24 knockouts and he has already been ranked at the top-15 of the division by some independent rankings along with WBA which ranks him at 12th and WBC, which has him at 11th spot. His most notable victims so far have been the likes of David Izon, Robert Davies and Jorge Luis Gonzales.

Mesi’s physique is solid if a little pudgy-looking, he stands at 6’1 and weights usually somewhere around 230 lbs. He is a well-schooled aggressive fighter who comes forward, punches pretty quickly with both hands and seems to carry some power. He seems to have some troubles with his defence however, he eats more punches than it would be healthy. So far his chin has held up well but it is yet to be tested by the real bombers of the division.

His opponents, DaVarryl “The Touch Of Sleep” Williamson is another fighter with a long amateur background. In the nineties he was the leading amateur heavyweight of the USA before at the advanced age of 32 he turned into a professional. Now at 35 years of age he is approaching the big-money fights but the Father Time is not on his side. Williamson has a respectable record of 18-1, 16 knockouts and his list of victims includes some noteworthy names such as Corey Sanders, Dale Crow and Kevin McBride. His lone loss came early in his career against an erratic journeyman fighter Willie Chapman who stopped him in four rounds.

Unlike his opponent, Williamson looks a little lanky, being 6’4 and weighing under 220lbs limit. He usually fights in a stand-up stance, creating openings with his jab and dropping his right cross when there is an opportunity. Williamson throws his punches with good form but apart from that he seems somewhat mechanical, throwing usually one punch at a time and fighting passively on the inside exchanges. Williamson’s right cross seems to carry exceptional power, his punches don’t necessarily look like much but when he connects, he can turn fights around with single shots. His most glaring weakness is his chin, he has already been stopped and also dropped on occasions.

This is a fight that shouldn’t lack fireworks. Both fighters are used to knock their foe’s out, this time it is just about which one will land the bomb first. Mesi is the favourite, but personally I would pick Williamson. As said before, Mesi sometimes leaves himself open when attacking and one opening might be all that “The Touch Of Sleep” needs for his tremendous right-hander. I expect both fighters to be rocked but Mesi more so. Williamson by an exciting fifth-round stoppage is the choice here.

Will we have three new stars in the division after the Saturday or will this be another night of disappointed hopes that so many prospects have gone through lately? After two days we will find out. Along the three main-event fights the card includes a punch of other interesting heavyweights, the Nigerian knockout artist Samuel Peter along them.

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