Mikey Garcia vs. Orlando Salido
Tonight boxing fans will bare witness to one of the most action packing cards of 2013. The headline of that card features fast rising Mikey Garcia against veteran ring warrior Orlando Salido. It promises to be a hard hitting fight that will test the heart and will of both fighters. The fight will be for Salido's WBO featherweight title, which he won from his fight against Juan Manuel Lopez two years ago.
Of the two fighters Garcia definately has the higher ceiling. Not only does he have tremendous punching power but he is highly inteligent in the ring. Garcia is known as a very slow starter. That is because he doesn't just pounce on his opponent the way other heavy punchers might, instead he relies on his inteligence to dissect his opponents gameplan and weaknesses. Then in the middle rounds once he has seen what he needs to, he strikes. And when he strikes it usually doesn't end well for the man standing across from him. His record is a perfect one of 30-0 with an outstanding 26 knockouts. Garcia is only 25 years old and his trainer/brother Robert Garcia is making sure he doesn't take him to the deep end before he is ready. He has fought some game fighters but no one to the level of Salido. This will no doubt be the toughest test of his blossoming career. On the other hand Salido is a completely different animal.
Salido has been in the ring for a very long time. He turned pro in 1996 and hasn't looked back. While his record doesn't look impressive, looks can be decieving. He is 39-11-2 with 1 no contest and 27 knockouts. Eight of his losses came before 2001 and he hasn't been knocked out since 2000. Also he has won his last five fights including two fights against Juan Manuel Lopez. Salido is different from Garcia in the fact that he likes to start early and apply constant pressure on his opponents. Unlike Garcia who hasn't really fought any top name opponents, Salido has been in the ring with some of the best. He has fought Juan Manuel Lopez, Juan Manuel Marquez, Yuriorkis Gamboa, and Robert Guerrero. So to take on a tough Garcia is nothing new to him.
This fight will really come down to the power of Garcia. Salido should rack up a lot of points by winning most of, if not all of the early rounds since Garcia starts so slow. But when Garcia picks it up in the middle rounds this boxing match should turn into a war. Salido loves a good fight and never backs down and Garcia will be looking for a big knockout in his typical fashion. If Salido can avoid that one big punch he should be able to survive and win the fight due to the early rounds he put in the bank. But Garcia has such a high ring IQ that Salido avoiding that one big punch seems like a tough task. This should be a great fight that brings fans to their feet by the end of it, if it lasts that long.
PREDICTION: Mikey Garcia gets the unanimous decision victory, and the biggest win of his career. He should drop Salido a time or two but the tough vet will refuse to stay down.
Gennady Golovkin vs. Gabriel Rosado
Of the three fights on tonights HBO Boxing After Dark card fans might be most excited to see Gennady Golovkin take on Gabriel Rosado for Golovkin's WBA & IBO middleweight titles. And the reason for this is the tremendous hype surrounding Golovkin ever since his first fight in the U.S. in September of 2012 against Grzegorz Proksa. Since that fight Golovkin's punching power has taken on almost mythical proportions. But fans can be assured that none of that means a thing to Rosado.
Golovkin is from Kazakhstan so his career in the U.S. is just getting started. The first twelve fights of his career all came in Germany, and this will be only his second fight in the states. Because of this he has never really fought any legit opponents outside of his massive knockout win over Proksa. However he does have a very impressive amateur backround. In the 2003 World Amateur Boxing Championships he beat Andy Lee and Lucian Bute on his way to winning the gold medal. And in the 2004 Olympics he beat Andre Dirrell to take the silver medal. But even with lackluster opponents so far in his professional career his record is still very impressive. It stands at a perfect 24-0 with an insane 21 knockouts. His last ten fights have all ended in a knockout. Most big time boxing fans have heard the myth of Golovkin's punching power and tonight they will see just how impressive it is against a tough fighter.
Rosado's record does not look that impressive on paper. It stands at 21-5 with a decent 13 knockouts. But he fights out of one of the toughest cities to come out of; Philadelphia. If a fighter can make his way out of the boxing gyms of Philadelphia to have a succesful pro career you know two things, he can really fight, and he is tough as nails. While he hasn't yet fought elite top level competition he has fought some good name fighters such as Alfredo Angulo, Charles Whittaker, Jesus Soto Karass, and Derek Ennis. He is also carrying into the ring a seven fight win streak that dates back to 2010. One thing is for sure, Rosado will not lay down for anyone. This is going to be a very good action fight with a lot of heavy punches landed.
This fight has a lot of questions. Can Golovkin continue to grow his mythical status in the states with an impressive knockout victory, or will Rosado pull of the shocking upset with his heart and toughness? This fight might not last all twelve rounds, but for as long as it does last fans should expect a great fight.
PREDICTION: Golovkin gets the victory with a 12th round knockout.
Rocky Martinez vs. Juan Carlos Burgos
The first fight on the Boxing After Dark card has a very good chance of stealing the show. That fight will showcase Rocky Martinez putting his WBO junior lightweight title on the line against Juan Carlos Burgos. This will be an all action fight that will once again pit two of the best fan bases in boxing against each other. Mexicans vs. Puerto Ricans. These two countries have held a deep seeded rivalry that won't fade anytime soon. And it is fights like this that keep that rivalry alive.
Martinez has never been in a bad fight. In fact his last time into the ring against Miguel Beltran Jr. on the Martinez-Chavez undercard was a candidate for fight of the year. He is a skilled fighter who loves to trade punches at close range. Although he doesn't posses one punch knockout power, the volume of punches he throws combined with the force in which he throws them and a lethal combination. His record is 26-1-1 with a solid 16 knockouts. He is your typical quick fisted Puerto Rican fighter whose blood routinely paints the canvass red. This man will not be giving up his title belt without a hell of a fight.
Burgos is the man who will be tasked with taking that title away. A very tough task to complete. He is a few years younger than Martinez but has been the busier fighter, compiling more fights than his foe. His record is 30-1 with 20 knockouts. Of the two fighters the Mexican Burgos is the harder puncher. He also likes to trade a high volume of punches but uses his footwork to throw and land hard shots then move out of punching range. His is a tough target to hit but Martinez should be able to goat him into a brawl. If Burgos wants that title belt he will need to land some massive shots to get it.
This is the fight big time boxing fans should be most amped for. It should be two smaller fighters throwing punches like heavyweights. Expect to see a ton of blood and a ton of heart, mixed in with some really great boxing. If there is even a single round that isn't action packed I would be shocked.
PREDICTION: Rocky Martinez keeps his title via majority decision.
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