The beginning of 2011 looks promising for the sweet science. Moreso than the beginning of 2010, at least.
After a late rally and strong conclusion for boxing last year, the sport offers intriguing match-ups early in the new year that are sure to keep the fistic dialogue flowing.
January might as well be labeled “The Month of the Prospect” as fans will get a chance to witness talented up-and-comers who are set to become serious contenders in the near future.
In just two days, ESPN’s Friday Night Fights returns with hard-hitting Russian, Ruslan Provodnikov (17-0, 11 KO) taking Mauricio Herrera (15-1, 7 KO). Former Olympian Demetrius Andrade (11-0, 8 KO) will also be featured when he squares off against Alberto Herrera (7-1, 5 KO).
Later in the month, Edwin “La Bomba” Rodriguez (17-0, 13 KO) will face Aaron Pryor Jr. (15-2, 11 KO) in a bout scheduled for ten. Easily the best super middleweight prospect, Rodriguez has been in high-demand as of late, serving as sparring partners for both Carl Froch and Jean Pascal as they prepared for their bouts against Arthur Abraham and Bernard Hopkins, respectively.
Cuban junior middleweight Erislandy Lara (14-0, 9 KO) is coming off three straight first round knockouts. Viewers will get watch him duke it out with Delray Raines (18-8-1, 13 KO), a fight which will air on Telefutura. Also on that card will be two promising Golden State prospects, Frankie Gomez (7-0, 6 KO) and Randy Caballero (6-0, 4 KO).
As per usual during a Telefutura card, I will be sitting in front of the television regretting my decision to quit Spanish in school, in favor of Italian. Regardless, these are three legitimate prospects all in one place on the same night.
In addition to all the prospects that will be televised throughout the month, the most anticipated bout of new year’s first month will take place when Tim Bradley takes on Devon Alexander in a junior welterweight unification bout. Most likely, the winner will face Amir Khan at some point in 2011 to see who the class of 140.
In February, Mike Jones and Jesus Soto-Karass will run back their ten round brawl and Fight of the Year candidate. While there is little doubt that taking this fight was the best financial deal on the table for Team Jones, to me, his decision to accept a rematch speaks volumes to the type of person Jones is. Although Jones will profit from literal profit and more exposure, as the rematch will air on HBO, he could have foregone a rematch with Soto-Karass
He didn’t. He wants to prove he earned the victory the first time by leaving no doubts in their second battle.
In the first fight, after punching himself in the second round while Soto-Karass was backed against the ropes, an exhausted Jones clearly struggled the rest of the fight. After thirty minutes of action inside the ring, many felt that Soto-Karass had pulled off the upset and was deserving of a victory.
On February 18, he’ll have a chance to prove it.
That fight will be followed by arguably the most anticipated bout in the first two months of the new year: the bantamweight unifying clash between Nonito Donaire (25-1, 17 KO) and Fernando Montiel (44-2, 34 KO).
A DVR-worthy bout that will be airing around the same time as the HBO card will feature Maryland’s (via the Dominican Republic) Fernando Guerrero (20-0, 16 KO) stepping up in competition against tough journeyman, Saul Roman (33-8, 25 KO).
Finally, February commences with a Showtime card that will see Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios (26-0-1, 19 KO) duel with Miguel Acosta (28-3, 22 KO) over a scheduled twelve rounds for a WBA title.
We ended 2010 with both November and December’s to remember.
Now we begin with two months that are full of potential, in the form of serious prospects, as well as Fight of the Year type bouts between Bradley-Alexander and Donaire-Montiel.
I highly doubt January and February will be months to forget.
