HBO PPV Fight Preview (Undercard)

Marvin Sonsona vs. Wilfredo Vazquez Jr.

This weekend is New York City's annual Puerto Rican Day Parade and also happens to be the same weekend Puerto Rican superstar Miguel Cotto will challenge Sergio Martinez for his middleweight title at Madison Square Garden.  Of course with that main event comes an undercard and one that will feature many other Puerto Rican fighters.  The co-feature of Saturday's PPV will feature Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. from Bayamon, Puerto Rico in a rematch with Filipino fighter Marvin Sonsona.  The two fighters will go 10 rounds in the junior featherweight division in a rematch of their 2010 fight that ended with a Vazquez Jr. knockout.

This will be Sonson'a 1st fight in the U.S.

For such a small fighter Sonsona has impressive power.  He is a southpaw with a solid jab but not much of a right hook.  Sonsona's power comes from his monster left hand that has ended fights very quickly.  Sonsona throws his left from very awkward angles so it is hard to defend.  Make no mistake, Sonsona is a skilled fighter and has fast hands but he also has some flaws.  His most noticeable flaw is on the defensive side of things.  The southpaw tends to keep his right hand very low, especially when he is on the outside and that leaves him wide open for the powerful left hook of Vazquez Jr.

One thing that could play a role in this fight is the atmosphere.  Sonsona has never fought in the U.S. before and the vast majority of this crowed will be Puerto Rican and rooting hard for Vazquez Jr.  When Sonsona and Vazquez Jr. fought the first time around that fight was in Puerto Rico with a pro Vazquez Jr. crowd so he may be unfazed but things will definitely be at a different level in Madison Square Garden.  As a pro Sonsona has been impressive with a record of 18-1-1 with a very strong 15 knockouts.  His only loss was by knockout when Vazquez Jr. caught him with a good body shot.  Vazquez Jr. was the best fighter Sonsona has seen as a pro and that fight didn't end well for him so he will need to have vastly changed his game plan from that first fight.  

Vazquez Jr. broke Sonsona down in their 1st fight

While Sonsona needs to change his game plan for this rematch Vazquez Jr. certainly doesn't.  Vazquez Jr. won their first fight with a 4th round knockout when he caught Sonsona with a left hook to the body.  Vazquez Jr. has quick hands but it will be Sonsona who has the advantage when it comes to hand speed.  What Vazquez Jr. has going for him is his heavy hands and ability to cut off the ring.  Vazquez Jr. is an orthodox fighter who doesn't jab often.  He does have a nice straight right hand he likes to throw upstairs but his best punch is his left hook, especially when he throws it to the body.  Look for him to be the aggressor in this fight much like he was in the first bout while he tries to slowly break Sonsona down.

The career of Vazquez Jr. has been an interesting one.  He has all the talent in the world to be a top fighter but hasn't seemed to put it all together yet.  He does have an nice record as a pro going 23-3-1 with impressive 19 knockouts but he has lost both of his step up fights against Jorge Arce and Nonito Donaire and has also suffered an upset loss to Yasutaka Ishimoto.  At 29 years old it is time for Vazquez Jr. to make a big statement and get back in the title mix.

Headbutts could play a role in this fight since it will be an orthodox fighter against a southpaw but hopefully there won't be any significant enough to stop the fight.  Sonsona was only 19 years old when he first did battle with Vazquez Jr. and now at 23 could be much improved but should still have his hands full with the Puerto Rican fighter.  Vazquez Jr. put in a ton of early body work in their first fight which really slowed Sonsona down and he will look to cut off the ring and do the same in their rematch.  If Sonsona uses his feet more and fights from the outside he could frustrate Vazquez Jr. but that won't be easy to accomplish.  If Sonson'a has improved this could be a very good fight but if he hasn't look for this bout to end much like the first one did.

PREDICTION: Marvin Sonsona is a good young fighter with a nice future but the future isn't now.  Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. is the sharper fighter at this point and his ability to cut off the ring will be the difference in this fight.  Vazquez Jr. will be going to the body early and often and will once again break Sonsona down.  It may take a few more rounds then last time but Vazquez Jr. will win this fight by the way of 6th round knockout.  

Jorge Melendez vs. Javier Maciel

Another Puerto Rican fighter who will be in action on Saturday's PPV card is the power punching Jorge Melendez.  Melendez was supposed to fighting slick boxer Yuri Foreman but do to what he felt was a bad contract Foreman retired from the sport.  So instead of fighting a skilled chess player Melendez will be facing fellow power puncher Javier Maciel in a 10 round junior middleweight bout.

Melendez has been a knockout machine

There isn't much to say about the way Melendez likes to fight.  He isn't the most skilled fighter in the world and when he scores his knockouts he is sometimes down on the cards.  Don't expect Melendez to fight from the outside, he likes to fight in a phone booth and do nothing but throw power punches.  He is an orthodox fighter with a good left hook and a monster right hand that usually turns opponents lights out.  As much power as Melendez has in his hands his chin is vulnerable.  He has been stoped twice in his three losses and has been dropped many times.  If this is an action fight Melendez will need to do a good job of not exposing his chin.

As a professional Melendez has amassed an impressive record.  Going into Saturday's bout Melendez's record stands at 28-3-1 with an unreal 26 knockouts.  However most, if not all of his fights have come against journeymen fighters and he has never faced any elite talent.  Melendez may never be at the top of his division and he may never win a world title but he is certainly must see TV and seems to always be involved in exciting action fights.  Against Maciel the action should be nonstop.

Maciel will bring plenty of power into the ring

Maciel fights a lot like his opponent Melendez.  Like Melendez he is also an orthodox fighter and loves to fight from the pocket.  Maciel throws a good overhand right and has a deadly left hook.  He also doesn't have a great chin and has been knocked out once in his three losses.  There isn't much to the defense of Maciel, he usually just puts on the earmuffs and walks straight ahead and doesn't seem to mind taking a few punches to land one of his own.  For the most part his strategy has been a successful one, but that could change when he takes the next small step up in competition.   

While Maciel hasn't faced any true elite fighters his resume is slightly more impressive than Melendez's.  The two best fighters he has faced are Dmitry Pirog and Brian Rose and he lost both of those bouts.  Besides those two fights Maciel has been impressive with a record of 28-3 with a solid 20 knockouts.  Both Maciel and Melendez seem to be in similar places in their careers and a win would be big for both men.

Besides the main event between Sergio Martinez and Miguel Cotto this is the fight to watch.  Melendez and Maciel love to fight in a phone booth and always provide fans with great action.  Don't expect to see much of the sweet science and this fight will certainly not be a chess match as it might have been if Foreman had not retired.  Both fighters are going to take a ton of punishment in this fight and it really comes down to who can hold up to the onslaught of punches.  Melendez is slightly more powerful but Maciel may be slightly better defensively so this fight is really a toss up but no matter which way it goes fans should get their moneys worth.

PREDICTION: This is a 50/50 fight because both fighters have a ton of power and questionable chins.  Chances are that both men could taste the canvas but the stronger power punches from Jorge Melendez will be the difference in this fight.  Javier Maciel will give a good showing but ultimately Melendez will be too strong and stop Maciel in the 6th round.

Andy Lee vs. John Jackson

The fight that will kick this PPV card off features a fighter who seems to be the Rodney Dangerfield of boxing, meaning he gets no respect.  That fighter is Andy Lee, a longtime middleweight contender who after losing to the much bigger Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. basically had to restart his career.  For this fight Lee will be moving down to the junior middleweight division to take on the young power punching John Jackson in a 10 round bout.

Losing to Chavez Jr. really hurt Lee's career

When people think of Lee they typically think of the jab.  That is because Lee has one of the best in the business and can win rounds with that punch and not much else.  Just because Lee uses the nickname "Irish" like Micky Ward don't think he fights like Ward.  Lee has no problem fighting off of his back foot and will constantly stick the jab and then sit down on his right hook.  While Lee usually likes to fight on the outside he also is effective on the inside and he will take a quick step back so he doesn't smother his punches.  One knock on the southpaw Lee is that he doesn't have much of a left hand and rarely throws it.  When he does it is usually the straight left but doesn't have much behind it.  Although both of his career losses have been by knockout his chin isn't bad he was just broken down over the course of the fight.

Those two career losses for Lee came against Brian Vera and Chavez Jr. and both were 7th round stoppages.  One example of Lee getting no respect is that while he did get stopped by Chavez Jr. he looked good early and was ahead on the scorecards.  However after that loss Lee had to start from the bottom, taking on the caliber of fighters he had easily handled earlier in his career.  Lee has been perfect since that loss to Chavez Jr. going 4-0 with two knockouts.  For his career Lee has a record of 32-2 with a solid 22 knockouts but needs to prove he can hang in tough with a big puncher like Jackson.

Jackson has big time punching power

Jackson is a young fighter with patience in the ring.  He doesn't have a high punch output and instead likes to pick his spots to land his power punches.  The orthodox fighter has a strong left hook but his power really shines through when he lands with the right hand.  That right hand can end a fight at any moment but Jackson would be better served if he was busier throughout his fights.  On defense Jackson isn't very elusive and tends to fight with his hands fairly low, especially his left.  When he gets in close he will bring his hands up but Lee should be able to land the jab at will if Jackson keeps his left hand low while on the outside.

The biggest fight Jackson has been in so far came against the talented prospect Willie Nelson, a fight Jackson lost.  Besides that fight against Nelson he hasn't fought many top fighters but he is still young and on the way up.  However Lee will be better than anyone he has fought thus far and there is a chance he could be in over his head at only 25 years old.  Along with his impressive power Jackson also has an impressive record of 18-1 with 15 knockouts.  Beating Lee would put a nice name on his resume and earn him some higher profile fights in the near future.

This is an interesting matchup between boxer and puncher.  Lee will be looking to control rounds with his jab and higher punch output while Jackson will be patient and wait for his opportunities to land his power.  Lee isn't the type of fighter who goes down from one punch but he will go down if you break him down throughout a fight.  Unfortunately Jackson doesn't seem like that type of fighter and needs to be busier in this fight then he has in the past.  For Lee he needs to put early rounds in the bank with his jab while Jackson has his hands low and if he gets out to an early lead he may be able to box his way to a victory.

PREDICTION: John Jackson is certainly a name to remember and a fighter to look out for in the near future.  However at this point the seasoned boxing skills of Andy Lee will be too much for him.  Lee is in need of a win on a high profile card to get back into title contention and this should be it.  Lee will control this fight with his jab and win by the way of unanimous decision.