UniMas Quick Picks

Jorge Arce vs. Aldimar Silva Santos: The boxing world may be buzzing about Mexican superstar Saul "Canelo" Alvarez, who fights this Saturday but he isn't Mexico's only favorite son who will be fighting that night.  Jorge Arce (62-7-2, 47 KO) will be continuing his comeback trail against Aldimar Silva Santos (19-7, 10 KO) in a 10 round featherweight bout.  Arce retired in 2012 following a brutal 3rd round knockout loss at the hands of Nonito Donaire in 2012.  However he didn't stay retired long and got back in the ring in 2013 when he knocked out Jose Carmona.  Arce is definitely a veteran of the sport and has been fighting professionally since 1996 which is 8 years before Santos turned pro.  Arce is beloved in Mexico and part of that is because of the way he fights, he loves to put on a great show and go to war for his fans.  Arce is an aggressive fighter who comes forward behind a high guard with his hands planted on each side of his head and likes to make fights rough and tumble on the inside.  The only time Arce seems to take a step back is when he is making some space to land a power punch.  Arce does have a tendency to reach with his punches, especially his right hand which is dangerous against elite level fighters but shouldn't be to much of a worry against Santos.  Both fighters have impressive resumes littered with big names but Arce has been much more successful recently going 7-1-1 with 1 no contest in his past ten fights.  In that same span Santos has gone 4-6 and has been knocked out 4 times.  Santos last fight was only 4 rounds which is a huge step down from his usual fights and he lost that bout by unanimous decision.  Santos isn't as aggressive as Arce and should be backing up during this fight in the face of Arce's relentless pressure.  Santos also isn't he busiest fighter in the sport and tends to throw his punches very wide.  Both fighters in this bout have weak chins so one punch could win the fight but it should be Arce who does most of the punching.  I expect Arce to look good in this fight and keep Santos on the ropes for most of the night.  The fight won't go the distance though and Arce will win it via 9th round stoppage.

David Alonso Lopez vs. Jose Uzcategui: Jorge Arce won't be the only old Mexican war horse fighting on this card.  The co-feature will be an interesting bout between David Alonso Lopez (41-13-1, 23 KO) who has been fighting professionaly since 1995 and a young undefeated Venezuelan fighter by the name of Jose Uzcategui (21-0, 17 KO).  The fight is scheduled to go 10 rounds in the middleweight division but could end well before that.  Lopez is much more experienced that Uzcategui and has been in numerous tough fights throughout his career.  However Lopez has always shown a weak chin which isn't a good thing against a fighter with an 80% knockout rate.  Still Lopez is a southpaw which can be tricky to figure out, especially for such a young fighter and he also throws some heavy leather.  The advantage for Uzcategui will come from his hand speed and power which he couples with good reach.  Uzcategui has a great straight right hand with power behind it but needs to throw it from a safe distance.  Sometimes he will throw that punch from to far away and that would leave Lopez with big countering opportunities.  Both fighters have a tendency to get a little wild from time to time so this should be a fun fight.  I think because he is a southpaw, Lopez may find some early success.  However I expect Uzcategui to figure out the veteran fighter in the middle rounds and keep him at bay with his long jab and straight right hand.  This will be a fun fight especially since Uzcategui has won by stoppage in 9 of his last 10 fights and Lopez hasn't been stopped since 2005.  Lopez is the perfect test for the young, talented Uzcategui.  If the younger fighter can stop Lopez early it would be very impressive but he may have to settle for the decision.  I expect Uzcategui to stun Lopez a time or two but the veteran will be able to survive until the final bell.  However Lopez will have to settle for being satisfied with going the distance because I think Uzcategui will win this fight by the way of unanimous decision.