CARSON, Calif. -- In a political landscape where people are calling for more transparency, the sanctioning bodies of boxing should take note. In a stacked junior lightweight division the WBC champion Miguel Berchelt will defend his title against contender Jason Sosa. The two will headline a card on Nov. 2 on ESPN. Sosa is conveniently ranked fourth by the WBC but finds himself ranked outside of the top 15 by both the WBA and WBO while he comes in at 15 by the IBF. Transparency in regards to the rankings would be great, but this is boxing so don't hold your breath.
If you're a fan of power punches who love to come forward, you're probably a fan of Berchelt (36-1, 32 KOs). The champion has power in both hands and he isn't too concerned about looking slick or avoiding return fire. Berchelt's jab is solid but he isn't the type of fighter who will use it to control the action from the outside. Berchelt is all about power punching. He has a brutal left hook that pairs nicely with a big right hand and he mixes up his attack nicely, banging to the body while also targeting the head. Berchelt's defense is just his offense. He won't slip many punches and he isn't adept at making opponents miss. Instead he comes forward and breaks opponents down, even if it means he has to eat some heavy leather.
Berchelt lifted his current WBC strap in 2017 when he beat Francisco Vargas. He's since defended it successfully five times, including another win over Vargas in 2019. Miguel Roman, Jonathan Victor Barros, Maxwell Awuku, and Takashi Miura are Berchelt's four other victims during his title reign. While Sosa is a tough customer he certainly isn't the fighter most fans want to see Berchelt in the ring with. In an ideal world Berchelt would unify titles with one of the other junior lightweight champions in Jamel Herring, Tevin Farmer, or Andrew Cancio. There are also good fights to be made in the lightweight division should Berchelt ever decide to move up in weight. A fight between Berchelt and former junior lightweight champ Gervonta Davis, who now fights in the lightweight division, has Fight of the Year contender written all over it.
Sosa (23-3-4, 16 KOs) is a solid fighter who doesn't do anything at the elite level. He is as tough as they come and despite often being the underdog he always comes to win and usually gives a good account if himself. He has an aggressive style and he's at his best when he in the pocket, banging away to the body. Sosa has a heavy right hand and his left hook is a nice weapon but he tends to get wild with both punches and he isn't a very accurate puncher. Don't expect to see Sosa use his jab much or find any real success from the outside. He will need to get in the pocket to do damage but he will really have to pay the price to get inside on a fighter like Berchelt.
The most notable win of Sosa's career came in 2016 when he stopped Javier Fortuna in the eleventh round. Sosa had been down earlier in that fight and was behind on all three cards when he pulled off the upset. Besides that win most fans probably know him from the time he was gifted a draw against Nicholas Walters. More recently he was stopped by Vasyl Lomachenko and dropped a close decision to a well past his prime Yuriorkis Gamboa. Since that loss Sosa has rebounded, going 3-0 with a knockout but the combined record of those three opponents was 58-25-3 so clearly they weren't fighters at the level of Berchelt.
Sosa is really going to have his hands full against Berchelt. The Camden, New Jersey native is tough as nails but he doesn't fight well from the outside and he will have to absorb some punishment to get inside on Berchelt. Once Sosa gets inside, if he can get inside, he will also be at a power disadvantage. Berchelt is a serious puncher and he has the size and power advantage over Sosa. If there was an opponent tailor made for Berchelt he would be smaller, aggressive, have less power, and not be a slick boxer. Basically Sosa is the perfect opponent for Berchelt to look good against because he will come forward and trade punches but he will be the one taking most of the punishment.
PREDICTION: This fight is going to be all Miguel Berchelt. Jason Sosa is tough and aggressive but in this fights those attributes will work against him. Berchelt is going to have his way with the smaller Sosa and eventually his pounding attack will be too much. Berchelt will win this fight by the way of seventh round knockout.
 |
| Berchelt, punishing Francisco Vargas with a right hand |
Berchelt lifted his current WBC strap in 2017 when he beat Francisco Vargas. He's since defended it successfully five times, including another win over Vargas in 2019. Miguel Roman, Jonathan Victor Barros, Maxwell Awuku, and Takashi Miura are Berchelt's four other victims during his title reign. While Sosa is a tough customer he certainly isn't the fighter most fans want to see Berchelt in the ring with. In an ideal world Berchelt would unify titles with one of the other junior lightweight champions in Jamel Herring, Tevin Farmer, or Andrew Cancio. There are also good fights to be made in the lightweight division should Berchelt ever decide to move up in weight. A fight between Berchelt and former junior lightweight champ Gervonta Davis, who now fights in the lightweight division, has Fight of the Year contender written all over it.
Sosa (23-3-4, 16 KOs) is a solid fighter who doesn't do anything at the elite level. He is as tough as they come and despite often being the underdog he always comes to win and usually gives a good account if himself. He has an aggressive style and he's at his best when he in the pocket, banging away to the body. Sosa has a heavy right hand and his left hook is a nice weapon but he tends to get wild with both punches and he isn't a very accurate puncher. Don't expect to see Sosa use his jab much or find any real success from the outside. He will need to get in the pocket to do damage but he will really have to pay the price to get inside on a fighter like Berchelt.
 |
| Sosa, tagging Javier Fortuna to the body |
Sosa is really going to have his hands full against Berchelt. The Camden, New Jersey native is tough as nails but he doesn't fight well from the outside and he will have to absorb some punishment to get inside on Berchelt. Once Sosa gets inside, if he can get inside, he will also be at a power disadvantage. Berchelt is a serious puncher and he has the size and power advantage over Sosa. If there was an opponent tailor made for Berchelt he would be smaller, aggressive, have less power, and not be a slick boxer. Basically Sosa is the perfect opponent for Berchelt to look good against because he will come forward and trade punches but he will be the one taking most of the punishment.
PREDICTION: This fight is going to be all Miguel Berchelt. Jason Sosa is tough and aggressive but in this fights those attributes will work against him. Berchelt is going to have his way with the smaller Sosa and eventually his pounding attack will be too much. Berchelt will win this fight by the way of seventh round knockout.
Comments
Post a Comment