Rollins on the other hand hasn't done much better. He fought twice in 2007 before returning earlier this year.
A shot in the dark has us favouring Flores.
The only Heavyweight fight taking place today sees Jorge Flores (1-1, 1)taking on Brian Rollins (1-2, 1). Flores, originally from Cuba though now based in Florida has had what can only be described as a stop start career having debuted in 2009 (losing in a round to Emmanuel Augustama) before resurfacing last year.
Rollins on the other hand hasn't done much better. He fought twice in 2007 before returning earlier this year. A shot in the dark has us favouring Flores.
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With the lower divisions stealing all the limelight this weekend it may be easy to ignore the Heavyweight division completely, however there is pretty interesting bouts that we would advise you at least put on your radar.
The notable of those bouts sees the infamous Eric Esch (77-9-4, 58) returning to the ring after more than a year out. "Butterbean", as he's better known, will be in Australia facing novice Kirk Lawton (1-1, 1). In his prime you'd favour Butterbean to add another one in the "W" column but at 46 and without a win since 2007 it'd not be a big surprise for Lawton to win (despite having not fought since 2005 himself). When Butterbean is in the most notable Heavyweight bout of the day you know the sport is having some issues. As is often the case the German boxing scene gives us plenty of action, though sadly a number of the bouts seem to only have one fighter confirmed at the moment. The bouts in Germany we know will be taking place are Franz Rill (1-0) against Lonja Fanta (3-1, 3) and Werner Kreiskott (13-19-1, 8) against Oezcan Cetinkaya (21-8-1, 14). Of the 4 mentioned above, it's fair to say that Rill, a Canadian, is probably the most likely to go somewhere. He debuted late last year and in Fanta he will be facing an opponent in 2 rounds in his most recent bout some 3 years ago. In the other bout it's hard too say too much. Both men are international level journeymen who face decent fighters on a regular basis and lose whilst defeating scrubs between those bigger fights. It could certainly be an intriguing one. Also in Germany we expect to see Agit Kabayel (5-0, 3) and Dzenan Hodzic (4-0, 4) though their opponents have yet to be named. Although Hodzic's record looks exciting he's in his mid 40's and making a return after several years out on the other hand Kabayel has yet to face an opponent with a winning record. In the UK there are 2 more Heavyweight bouts. On paper the more interesting one sees Micky Steeds (12-6, 3) taking on Paul Morris (5-17-2, 3). On paper the fighters look mismatched but in all honesty we'd expect this to be a competitive match up. Interestingly Steeds has lost his last 4 and is with out a win in 5 years whilst Morris is winless in 8. The other bout in Britain sees the debut of Dominic Akinlade (0-0). Akinlade was one of the top amateurs in Britain and he starts his assault on the professional with a match up against Latvian Janis Ginters (1-3, 1). If the unbeaten Akinlade is as good as hoped he could end up in the British title mix in the next 2-3 years. There is one more bout to talk about as Argentinian based Canadian Icho Larenas (6-2, 6) fights for the 9th time in his adoptive Buenos Aires. Larenas will be facing Alfredo Brigido Ruiz Diaz (6-5-1-1, 2) who comes in to the bout with 1 win in his last 5 bouts (1-2-1-1), though that win did interestingly come against Larenas who was undefeated up to that point. This could be a very interesting battle as Larenas seeks revenge. In the Heavyweight division we sometimes get treated to some huge match ups, sometimes we get B grade match ups between two former contenders and other times we get a top name in action. Sadly however today features none of those, though we do still get plenty of action including a very promising match up in the US and a big debut in Germany.
The biggest "name" fighter in the division who is active today is the multi-weight world champion James Toney (74-8-3-2, 45) who takes on journeyman Kenny Lemos (12-7-2, 8). Toney, who looked in fantastic shape when challenged for the WBA Cruiserweight title at the end of last year, has ballooned back up in weight to around 240lbs however he looks in shape compared to the 290lb Lemos. Oddly Toney's former opponent Danny Batchelder (26-9-1, 13) is also in action as he faces Rodney Moore (17-7-2, 7) in Louisiana, USA. Batchelder is widely seen as a solid journeyman (if not a gate keeper) and although he regularly loses it's often only to credible fighters. With this in mind it'd be a surprise if Moore defeated him. Also in the US, though in Florida and as part of the ESPN "Friday Night Fights" card (though very unlikely to be televised), are 2 more Heavyweight bouts. The more noteworthy of those two bouts sees former amateur star Donovan Dennis (4-0, 4) facing Curtis Harper (7-2, 6). Although Harper has suffered 2 stoppage losses he has faced much better competition than Dennis so far (including Gerald Washington and Yasmany Consuegra-the two men to have defeated him) and this is an outstanding match up despite the "levels" of the two men. The other bout sees debutant Kareem Bann (0-0) facing the "win some-lose some, but never go the distance" Chris Vendola (5-4, 5). We have to admit we know next to nothing on Bann at the moment but the 43 Vendola probably won't defeat him (especially considering Vendola hasn't won a bout since March 2008). There is also a bout in California as the gigantic Justin Goslee (0-0) makes his debut. Goslee a 330 man mountain faces fellow debutant Jose Hermosillo (0-0) who is almost 100lbs lighter. On the big card of the day in Germany, there's the professional debut of Tom Schwarz (0-0). Schwarz is regarded as a top prospect by the legendary Uli Steinforth who has had him sharing the ring with some experienced Heavyweights in the build up to his debut. Aged just 19 and standing at around 6'5" Schwarz is an imposing figure out of the ring and he'll be looking to prove he's capable in it as well when he faces Mario Schmidt (3-11, 9). Staying in Germany though moving to Berlin, Turkish Heavyweight Aziz Baran (1-0, 1) looks to score his second victory inside a week as he takes on the limited Pole Bartosz Szwaryzynski (0-5). With all 5 of Szwaryzynski's bouts ending in the opening 2 rounds it'd be a surprise to see him survive the distance here. At the moment we have 3 areas that are really producing some noteworthy Heavyweights. Fightly you have the US (Bryant Jennings, Deontay Wilder, Joe Hanks, Malik Scott and Seth Mitchell), then you have the UK (David Haye, David Price, Tyson Fury and Hughie Fury) and finally you have Eastern Europe (the Klitschko brothers, Alexander Povetkin, Kubrat Pulev and Denis Boytsov).
Two of those 3 areas see action in the Heavyweight division today. In Russia the once beaten Maxim Maslov (10-1-1, 7) returns to the ring for the first time since being stopped by Yaroslav Zavorotnyi in March 2010. Whilst Maslov is not a world beater the 28 year old has potential to be in some good fights. His up coming fight however appears to be a typical confidence builder as he faces Latvian Cruiserweight Florians Strupits (2-26, 2) who for all intents and purposes appears to be a "Latvian Lemming". Across the other side of the world in the US the unbeaten Dante Selby (1-0-1) will be hoping to build on his victory over Daniel Pasciolla, Selby will be facing club fighter Zeferino Albino (4-17-3-2, 2) in what looks to be a relatively foregone conclusion. Going in to this bout Albino takes a 5 fight losing streak in to the ring and has only won a solitary contest since 2008, going 1-14-1-2 in that time. Still with it only being Albino's 3rd professional contest we can't really complain too much. The only Heavyweight bout of the day takes place in Šturovo, Slovakia as Tamas Toth (5-3-1, 2) takes on Peter Erdos (7-4-1, 3) in an all Hungarian battle.
This is the second meeting between the two men who debuted against each other in April 2012 in a draw. Since then neither man has really carved out a memorable career though both have fought around Europe. Toth, known as "Barbarian" has fought in Slovakia, Hungary, Belgium, Austria, and the UK. Erdos on the other hand has fought in Slovakia, the UK, Hungary, Canada, Romania and Austria. It's hard to say who'll win this but one thing we need to admit is that it's fighters like this that keep the sport going. Congrats to both men as the sport really does need bouts like this even if many fans do over-look them. With Heavyweight action taking place around the world today it'd be easy to say that the attention of the boxing world will be split. Instead however there is one bout that stands out head and shoulders above the others. So much so in fact that all other bouts in the division pale in comparison.
So lets start with that big bout first. In Brooklyn the once beaten Seth "Mayhem" Mitchell ( 25-1-1, 19) looks for revenge over the man who beat him, Johnathon Banks (29-1-1, 19), last November. The bout, the chief support of the Paul Malignaggi/Adrien Broner fight, is a chance for the hard hitting Mitchell to get revenge whilst Banks can prove his 2nd round stoppage of Mitchell last year as no fluke. Going in to their first bout Mitchell was viewed by many as the "new heir" to the American Heavyweight throne. He was exciting, hard hitting and whilst technically limited he appeared to have the power to over-come his limitations. As it turned out Banks was too skilled and only needed one shot to take Mitchell from his game plan. Mitchell was dropped 3 times last time out so will need to show a much refined and cautious style here to prevent himself from being stopped early once again. Whilst the Mitchell/Banks II fight is the biggest Heavyweight fight, it's one of a handful of bouts in the division this Saturday. Staying in the US for a second, there is a second bout Stateside as the unbeaten Joshua Tufte (12-0, 6) faces off against Jonte Willis (9-5-1, 3). Willis has gone 2-5-1 in his last 8 bouts but they have included competitive losses to Denis Bakhtov and Didier Bence and a stoppage the very highly regarded Andy Ruiz Jr/ This is a really good test for Tufte who will be defending his United States Boxing Organisation and NABA USA Heavyweight titles for the first time. In Canada Jarred Kilkenny (4-1-2, 3) looks to bounce back from the first loss of his career as he takes on Hungarian journeyman Gabor Farkas (6-27-5, 3). Farkas has lost his last 13 bouts over the last 2 years so it would be a massive surprise for him to defeat kilkenny here. Over in Europe we have a very interesting all French clash as Johann Duhaupas (28-1, 17) takes on French Heavyweight champion Fabrice Aurieng (7-5, 2). Duhaupas enters on a winning run of 11 bouts since suffering his lone set back to Francesco Pianeta in December 2008 whilst Aurieng comes in on the back of a stoppage loss to Japanese Heavyweight Kyotaro Fujimoto. In Germany the unbeaten Norman Jendrejczyk (1-0-1, 1) faces veteran Marco Heinichen (11-29-2, 6). It's hard to care too much about this bout with both men being in their late 30's though with Heinichen having only scored a solitary win in 4 years it's hard to see him claiming a victory here. The biggest Heavyweight bout of the weekend may take place on Saturday but that doesn't mean that we are void of action today.
In Russia, on the undercard of Krzysztof Wlodarczyk's WBC title defense against Rakhim Chakhkiev, fans can see the experienced Denis Bakhtov (36-8, 24) taking on novice Heavyweight Vladimir Goncharov (2-0, 1). On paper this looks like a mismatch but Goncharov is viewed as a fighter that could be fast tracked. Is this a step too too far too soon, or is an excellent bit of match making, only time will tell but it's great to see a unbeaten fighter who isn't being protected. In the US the hard hitting Joey Abell (28-6-0-2, 27) faces Maurenzo Smith (11-6-2, 8). Whilst this isn't an awful match up it's certainly not great with Smith losing his last 4 (albeit 3 of those came to unbeaten prospects) and Abell ending a 13 month lay off. A decent undercard bout but nothing else to get excited about. On the same card as the Abell/Smith fight we expect the debut of Pat Quinn (0-0) who should be taking on John Schimon (0-1). Aged 36 we don't expect too much of Quinn and at 44 Schimon is also unlikely to go too far. Whilst we typically think boxing only takes place on the weekend there are often fights, around the world, through the week. This week has been generally quiet though we get an early start to the weekend with Heavyweight action kicking off on Thursday.
The action kicks off in Romania as Lucien Bot (15-1-1, 5) returns to action for the first time this year. Bot will be facing Hungarian journeyman Ferenc Zsalek (11-32-3, 1) in a 6 round bout that should see Bot shaking some ring rust off more than anything else. On the same card as Bot/Zsalek will also be Florian Benche (2-5) who will face face off against Liviu Ungureanu (1-15, 1) in a bout that is difficult to get excited about. In Texas, USA, there will also be action as the unbeaten Darlington Agha (8-0, 6) faces Jamal Woods (3-7, 3). Woods has lost 6 of his last 7 but does still have a solid punch on him. Interestingly this will be Agha's 3rd fight this year after spending the whole of 2012 out of the ring. Sometimes people talk rubbish because they they don't know better, others talk rubbish because they are trying to downplay something. We here at HeavyweightBoxing actually have no idea why people say the division is dead, especially not when we get weekends like this.
We all know that Friday is busy but Saturday is even busier with fights throughout Europe and America (north and south) as the Heavyweight division shows serious signs of life. The most notable fight in Europe is arguably in Poland as unbeaten Heavyweight prospect Artur Szpilka (14-0, 11) takes on American Brian Minto (37-5, 24) in a bout for the "interim" WBC Baltic Heavyweight title. Szpilka, whilst unlikely to ever claim a world title is very fun to watch with his hard punches, fast hands serious sense of vulnerability. Combine Szpilka's fun to watch style with Minto's own bravery and face first fighting and you have what could be the "sleeper" classic of the week. If you can catch this bout it probably will be worth it. On the same card as the Szpilka/Minto bout fans will also be treat to 2 other Heavyweight bouts as Marcin Siwy (5-0, 2) faces Artsem Hurbo (4-15-1, 3) and novice Damian Trzcinski (1-1) faces the debuting Damian Szarzala (0-0). Oddly despite the "interim" Baltic title being fought for in Poland, the full version of the title is on offer in Germany, as Manuel Charr (23-1, 13) makes the first defense of the belt. Charr was down to defend against against the gigantic Evgeny Orlov originally but Orlov has been forced out of the bout and been replaced by Oleksiy Mazikin (14-8-2, 4). For Charr it's been a frustrating few weeks seeing David Haye pull out on a bout and now Orlov, so with that in mind we expect the former Heavyweight world title challenger to do a real number on Mazikin and release his frustration. On the same card as Charr's bout we expect to see Oleksandr Nesterenko (9-1, 4) in action though his opponent is yet to be named. If he does fight as we expect it will be his first bout in over 3 years. Remaining in Germany (though on a different card) Adnan Buharalija (26-18-2, 18) takes on Radenko Kovac (2-2, 2). Although on paper this is a mismatch it needs to be put in to context. Buharalija has lost his last 4 (all by T/KO) and is 2-10 in his last 12 bouts dating back over 2 years, with all those losses coming early. Kovac is there to lose but he may have just enough to defeat his more experienced foe. In Denmark we have an intriguing debut for the touted Otto Walin (0-0) who takes on Roman Cherney (1-0). Walin is a young, tall, good looking southpaw who has signed with Sauerland (who currently promote Robert Helenius, Kubrat Pulev and Alexander Povetkin) and will be brought though carefully with their backing. In Britain the hyper-active Hughie Fury (5-0, 4) faces journeyman Tomas Mrazek (7-40-6, 5). On paper this is a step up for Fury so we can't complain too much and Mrazek should give him some rounds but we'd still like to see Fury taking another step up sooner rather than later. The British card also features Sam Sexton (17-3, 7) though his opponent is yet to be named so we're not expecting anyone too testing for the former Commonwealth champion. In the USA we get a really attractive "B level" match up as Manuel Quezada (29-7, 18) takes on Nagy Aguilera (18-7, 12). This is a bout that won't attract a huge number of fans but we'll honestly admit we're excited and hope that the winner will get a notable bout on the back of it (how about Fres Oquendo who defeated Derric Rossy last weekend in a similar type of bout?) On the same card as the Quezada/Aguilera bout the unbeaten Eric Reza (1-0) faces Angelo Guiterrez (2-1, 2). This bout is much less notable and at 34 years old we don't expect this to be much more than just an odd bout for Reza who will never become "one to watch". Staying in the US we get an interesting bout between unbeaten novices Rudy Zapata (2-0, 1) and Hugo Arceo (3-0, 3). This bout is interesting mainly due to the fact both guys are at the same point in their career and it's not something we see too often in the Heavyweight division. In fact the US have another unbeaten Heavyweight in action with the 21 year old Danny Kelly (3-0, 3) facing Rayshawn Myers (5-16-1, 3). Kelly's 3 bouts to date have all been won in the opening round and whilst we'd expect him to win again here this could be a much tougher bout as Myers has only been stopped 4 times since 2005. The remaining bout in the US sees debutant Khalib Witmore (0-0) taking on Lamont Capers (1-1). This will be Capers' first bout at Heavyweight having previously fought as a Cruiserweight in both of his bouts. Going north from the US to Canada we get 2 Heavyweight bouts on the same as card Julien Collete (8-2, 6) takes on Sandy Pembroke (2-6, 1) and Kevin Cormier (3-0, 3) fights Bradley Foulgai (0-0). Although the the pairing of Collette and Pembroke are the more experienced pair it's actually the Cormier/Foulgai fight that interests us the most. Cormier is 27 and returning for his first fight since October 2011 and although he'll be favoured there are a lot of questions surrounding his potential. The final Heavyweight bouts for us to talk about are in Argentina as we get yet another brace of bouts. The first of those sees the experienced Marcelo Fabian Dominguez (42-7-1, 23) facing off against Miguel Angel Morales (12-12-1, 5). The 43 year old Dominguez is probably best known for his fights at Cruiserweight though his last few fights have been at Heavyweight. With just a solitary bout in the last 6 years Dominguez is there be beaten, Morales however, is unlikely to do so. The other bout in Argentina see another veteran in action as Gonzalo Omar Basile (58-8-0-1, 27) attempts to claim the vacant IBF Latino title as he takes on the Victor Danilo Gimenez (22-5, 11). The experienced Basile, who has fought Artur Szpilka and Alexander Dimitrenko, may well have a bit of a padded record but should have enough here to claim the victory, and the belt against "El Animal". The start of a new weekend once again serves as evidence that the Heavyweight division is alive and well. Sure it's not a division that's taking headlines with massive fights but it's a division coming out of it's slumber with a number of promising fighters.
The stand out up coming fighter in action this Friday is unbeaten American Bryan Jennings (16-0, 8) who NBC appear to be pushing as a future contender, if not champion. Jennings continues his development as he takes on the experienced Russian Andrey Fedosov (24-2, 19). Fedosov may have been beaten twice in his 26 fight career but is a hard hitting fighter and at 27 years old is starting to enter his peak. With his power the Russian certainly has a chance at scoring a major upset against a man seen as one of America's most promising Heavyweights. On the same card as the Jennings/Fedosov bout in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania is the debut of 26 year old Bill Marks (0-0) who starts his professional career with a bout against Randy Easton (0-1-1). Marks isn't the only debutant in action as Ernest Blackwell (0-0) and Jose Hermocillo (0-0) also mark the start of their professional careers. Blackwell starts his campaign off in North Carolina where he faces Jesse Barber (0-1). Barber, who debuted himself this past January, will be hoping for a better result than his previous bout in which he stopped inside a round. Like Blackwell, Hermocillo is also facing a fighter with a losing record as he takes on John Makani Sarellano (0-1) in California. In New Jersey novice pair Tyrell White (1-0) and Moses Marshall (0-1-1) face off in what could be an interesting bout on the untelevised portion of the ESPN Friday Night Fights card. The usually poor fights that folk in Memphis, Tennessee get served up doesn't seem likely to change any time soon. This Friday's Heavyweight bout between Quincey Palmer (6-2-1, 6) and Willie Perryman (10-22, 7) will be yet another example of Tennessee's poor match ups though it should be an entertaining scrap even if it's a bit of a mismatch. In Canada Eric Martel Bahoeli (8-3, 5) is scheduled to face journeyman Jean Francis Traore (4-17, 2). Bahoeli, who suffered 3 successive losses in less than a year is looking to rebuild his career and it seems likely he's going to be matched softly for a while as he rebuilds his confidence. He has avenged one of his 3 losses, stopping Raymond Olubowale for the Canadian Heavyweight title but is unlikely to be going too far (though a fight between a revitalised Bahoeli and Didier Bence would certainly be interesting). French fans at the Salle Marcel Cerdan will get to see one of their own unbeaten Heavyweights in action as Ibrahima Mariko (2-0, 1) takes on Hungarian Laszlo Peczeli (4-5-1). It'd be a huge shock to see Peczeli, who has lost 5 of his last 6, winning here. |