27.12.08 – by James Slater – Sharing the bill with the Nate Campbell-Ali Funeka lightweight title clash on February 14th, is a light-middleweight bout that may well be the fight of the evening. Unbeaten 154-pound contender Alfredo Angulo of Mexico will meet Nicaraguan wild man Ricardo Mayorga over 12 scheduled rounds. Simply put, there is no way this fight will be anything other than fan-friendly and exciting..
Mayorga, now aged 35 and coming off a much better than expected showing against Sugar Shane Mosley – where a last second KO scored by an up until then largely struggling Mosley prevented “El Matador” from making it to the scorecards – is rarely in a bad fight. Sure, he’s lost to most of the top-notch boxers he’s met, but the fighter who enjoys both a smoke and a beer out of training (if not actually in training also!) always gives his all.
Angulo, the unbeaten 26-year-old, should be in for some fight. Widely expected to go all the way to world title level, “El Perro” will be looking to add Mayorga’s still marketable name to his resume in February. Both men are come-forward aggressive types who have real punching power, and as such there figures to be a competitive and dramatic tussle when they collide. Angulo is moving pretty fast, having been in with the then 24-1 Richard Gutierrez and the then 26-3 Andrey Tsurkan in his last two outings (stopping both) and now going in with the always dangerous Mayorga.
The former welterweight and light-middleweight champ who is known for his trash talking may be on the downside now, but that’s what people have been saying about the Nicaraguan for seemingly ages now. Yet in his last two fights, against Fernando Vargas and then Mosley, Mayorga got a win and was ultra-competitive. Yes, both guys, like Mayorga himself, were past their best, but Angulo will still be meeting his best opponent yet early next year. Can Angulo get past the man seen as something of a gatekeeper at top 154-pound level, or will Mayorga earn himself one more win that will prolong his colourful career?
It would take a brave man to predict a distance fight between these two, that’s for sure. Mayorga has 22 KO’s from his 28 wins, while Angulo has 11 KO’s from his 14 victories. Also, neither guy, Mayorga especially, is anywhere close to being a defensive master. Both men WILL get hit, very likely quite a lot – the question is who will prevail in the give and take war.
Mayorga has a huge edge in experience, having been in with a number of his generation’s best 147 and 154-pound fighters – men like Mosley, Vargas, Oscar De La Hoya, Vernon Forrest (twice) Felix Trinidad and Cory Spinks. Mayorga has seen every imaginable style of fighter opposing him and he has done pretty well against the top men he’s faced. He has, however, also paid the price for having been in so tough so often. Mayorga simply cannot have much left today, not after being stopped, quite brutally, by Mosley, De La Hoya and Trinidad. Also, taking the 35-year-old’s lifestyle into account, Mayorga is surely on borrowed time right about now.
Angulo, fresh and hugely hungry, must be made the favourite to win on Feb 14th – but this is not to say it will be easy. Angulo’s chin has given no cause for alarm thus far, and if it continues to hold up against the bombs Mayorga can land, victory will be his. Look for “El Perro” to stop “El Matador” in around 8 or 9 rounds.