Roman "Rocky" Martinez vs. Orlando Salido
The first fight between Roman "Rocky" Martinez and Orlando Salido is a candidate for the 2015 Fight of the Year and fans planning to buy Saturday's Showtime PPV card hope the rematch is just as good. The first fight took place in April, with Martinez dropping Salido twice on his way to a unanimous decision win. Now only five months later, Salido looks to get revenge in a fight scheduled to go 12 rounds in the junior lightweight division for Martinez's WBO belt.
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| Martinez won a clear decision in their 1st fight |
Martinez is an orthodox fighter who has skills to outbox opponents but who doesn't hesitate to get involved in a good scrap. Martinez, who hails from Puerto Rico has a solid jab but is at his best when he is letting go with his left hook and powerful straight right hand. That is what makes Martinez such a difficult opponent, he can stick and move from the outside and brawl on the inside and finds success doing both. In his first fight with Salido he did a good job of jabbing and moving around the ring while also picking his spots to throw strong combinations. Perhaps most impressively of all is that Martinez never walked into any or Salido's traps and for the most part kept his cool while Salido constantly fouled him.
The career of Martinez has been an interesting one so far but one that hasn't reached the heights it could, and maybe someday still will, although at 32 years old the time is now. Martinez has an impressive career record of 29-2-2 with 17 knockouts and his two losses both came against top fighters in Mikey Garcia and Ricky Burns. That has been the major problem for Martinez, he can't beat that next level fighter to get to the top. Still, Martinez has earned many fans because of his fighting style and propensity to brawl when all else fails. Following his 2013 loss to Garcia, Martinez hasn't been very busy, only fighting twice. It would really help his career to get another win over Salido and keep his momentum going forward.
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| Look for Salido to use dirty tactics on Saturday |
The fighting style of Salido is similar to the older guy who keeps running pick-up basketball games with the young guns, or like a pitcher who has lost the velocity on his fastball but still finds success. What is meant by that is Salido isn't the same fighter who used to be but he knows all the tricks of the trade and will bend the rules to help him win. Salido is an orthodox fighter and fighter is the perfect word to describe him. Salido doesn't do anything pretty and on the inside will often let whichever hand is opposite the referee fly with repeated low-blows. Salido doesn't put in much work from the outside and isn't someone who will jab and move all night. Instead, Salido comes straight ahead behind left hooks, straight rights, and he always attacks the body. Salido has already said he will do anything to win this fight so expect a lot of fouls and some possible point deductions.
If the word fighter perfectly describes Salido, so does veteran. Salido has been fighting since 1996 and has a record of 42-13-2 with 29 knockouts. Yet because of his power, aggressiveness, and dirty tactics it seems that Salido is always in the fight to the very end. Salido has actually done pretty well in his last 15 fights going 11-4 but at this point in his career and at 34 years old back-to-back losses could really hurt Salido.
This rematch should play out much like the first fight. Martinez is the better boxer and he can also slug, while Salido will just look to get inside where he can rough things up. In the first fight Salido continuously tried to bait Martinez into attacking wildly so Salido could surprise him with power punches but Martinez never fell for it. In the rematch he can't fall for it either and he can't let Salido's dirty tactics frustrate him. Martinez did look to the ref for help and complained a few times when Salido fouled him and didn't protect himself at all times and Salido made him pay for that, this time around he needs to be even smarter against a fighter in Salido who will be even more desperate for a win in boxings best rivalry, Mexico vs. Puerto Rico.
PREDICTION: Their first fight was a fun battle but it was clear that Roman "Rocky" Martinez was getting the better of Orlando Salido and winning the fight. This fight will play out in a similar fashion. It will be a tough, brawling type fight and each fighter with have his moments but Martinez will have more of them and will beat Salido again by the way of unanimous decision.
Badou Jack vs. George Groves
The reason most boxing heads are getting excited about Saturday's PPV card really isn't because of the main event, instead it is because of a very good undercard filled with fights that could easily go either way. The 12-round super middleweight bout between Badou Jack and George Groves is one of those fights and in it Jack's newly won WBC World title will be on the line. The reason this fight should be particularly interesting is because both Jack and Groves are solid punchers but both have been knocked out, and in fact between them they have three career losses and all three have been by the way of knockout.
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| Jack is fresh off the biggest win of his career |
Jack is an orthodox fighter with a very good jab and solid footwork. The jab of Jack is probably his best, and most often used weapon, but he also has a nice looking left hook. Along with those punches Jack also makes use of a right hand although it is probably his least used weapon. The only real problem for Jack in his career thus far has been his defense. Its not that Jack is a terrible defensive fighter but he has been known to eat a lot of clean punches upstairs and he does have a brutal 1st round knockout loss on his record.
The only loss Jack has suffered in his career came back in early 2014 whn Derek Edwards dropped him twice in the opening round to get the stoppage win. However, Jack is now coming off of the biggest win of his career which took place in April. That fight saw him get a close decision over Anthony Dirrell and it put his record at 19-1-1 with 12 knockouts. Now Jack will look to win what could easily be called the second biggest fight of his career against Groves.
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| Groves came up empty twice against Froch |
Groves fights out of the orthodox stance and he has a very awkward looking style. Groves crouches down and lets his lead hand drop low and wide from his body, somewhat like an orthodox version of Vic Darchinyan. Perhaps the best attribute that Groves possesses is his aggressiveness, which is followed closely but his punching power. While Groves does have a stiff jab his real power comes from his overhand right which he throws far more often than his left hook. The awkward style of Groves also sees him leap in with some punches so he can get wild at times. Also, like Jack there is questions about the chin of Groves, especially after he was stopped twice by Carl Froch.
The two knockout losses that Groves suffered at the hands of Froch are the only two losses of his career. In the first fight Groves was actually ahead on all three cards when he was stopped and in the second fight he was up on one judges scorecard, making the stoppages that much worse. Still despite those setbacks Groves has had himself a good career so far and has a record of 21-2 with a solid 16 knockouts. While Jack isn't the puncher that Froch is Groves will still need to be careful not to open up too much and pay the price.
This fight could be razor close throughout. Jack is more of a boxer who likes to fight from the outside while Groves is more of a puncher who will risk taking punishment in order to get inside. It will be interesting to see how Jack performs following such a big win where he was able to box his way to a victory. It will also be interesting to see how Groves performs in arguably the biggest fight of his career post-Froch.
PREDICTION: This is a tough fight to pick considering both men have their share of flaws. However, George Groves has competed at a higher level than Badou Jack has and he is also the more aggressive fighter. If this fight is close, which it will be, the judges will favor the aggressiveness of Groves and he will win the fight via unanimous decision.
Jhonny Gonzalez vs. Jonathan Oquendo
Just like Saturday's co-feature, the opening bout will renew the best rivalry in boxing, Mexico vs. Puerto Rico. Jhonny Gonzalez, a power punching veteran out of Mexico will be taking on Puerto Rican Jonathan Oquendo in what should be an exciting opening bout. The fight is scheduled to go 10 rounds in the junior lightweight division and while both fighters are inching closer to their mid-30s they both still have the potential to upset the apple card.
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| Gonzalez rebounded nicely after a loss to Russell |
When you think of Gonzalez the first thing that comes to mind is his left hook. Gonzalez is a big puncher and the left hook is his best and most dangerous weapon. The Mexican veteran fights out of the orthodox stance and he is a patient fighter who looks to set up his power punches. Gonzalez has a solid jab and uses it as a measuring stick for his left hook and uppercuts. The veteran does some of his best work on the inside where he will take a small step to his side to help him land his uppercuts or left hook. However, defense has always been a problem for Gonzalez who has been knocked out four times in his nine defeats.
In the ring Gonzalez has seen it all and has gone to battle with some big names like Israel Vazquez, Daniel Ponce De Leon, Abner Mares, Jorge Arce, and most recently Gary Russell Jr.. The fight against Russell is the last time Gonzalez lost and he was thoroughly beaten in that fight by the way of 4th round stoppage. Yet Gonzalez was able to rebound nicely in his next fight, scoring a 2nd round stoppage. As it stands now Gonzalez has a record of 58-9 with a big 49 knockouts, most of which have come from his monster left hook, a punch Oquendo needs to be on constant alert for.
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| Oquendo hasn't done well against the best |
Fighting out of Puerto Rico, Oquendo works out of the orthodox stance and flashes a nice jab. Oquendo is not the type of fighter who takes very many, if any at all, backwards steps and that aggressive style has served him well against lesser fighters. Oquendo's power comes from his right hand and he will throw that punch straight or over the top. Along with that right hand Oquendo has a wild left hook that if it lands can do serious damage. However, much like Gonzalez, Oquendo's problems come on the defensive side of things. In four career losses Oquendo has been knocked out twice and he has never won any of his step up fights.
Make no mistake, Gonzalez is a step up for Oquendo. Throughout his career the Puerto Rican has looked good against average fighters but has always lost when he took that next step up in competition. One of his career losses was a disqualification but not counting that he has losses to Juan Manuel Lopez, Wilfredo Vazquez Jr., and Abner Mares. Despite those losses Oquendo still has a solid record of 25-4 with 16 of those wins coming by the way of knockout.
This should be another fun fight on an undercard full of them. Not only do Gonzalez and Oquendo both like to brawl but they should be even more intense considering it is a fight between Mexico and Puerto Rico. Oquendo typically likes to fight on the inside but that could spell trouble against Gonzalez who is a better pocket fighter and who has more power. For Gonzalez he needs to do what he always does, stay patient and look to land the left hook. When a fight like this is opening a card you know you should be in for some good action throughout the night.
PREDICTION: This fight will be fun for awhile, that is until Jhonny Gonzalez's power starts to break down Jonathan Oquendo. In the middle rounds the left hook will start to land for Gonzalez and he will finish Oquendo in the 7th round with a knockout.
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