Boxing Preview, March 5th/6th
Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images
Two cards headline this weekend. The main course is naturally Roman Gonzalez vs Julio Cesar Martinez on Saturday night, but we have a worthy starter on Friday as Jose Ramirez faces Jose Pedraza. Let’s get to it.
Jose Ramirez vs Jose Pedraza
Friday, March 4th
Jose Ramirez looks to rebound from the first loss of his career and the loss of his two 140lbs belts in his last fight with Josh Taylor. He hasn’t chosen a gimme, as he steps in with the experienced Pedraza, a former champion himself at 135 and a man with a stacked resume to bring to the table.
We should be in for a good scrap, because both these men are pocket traders for preference. Of the two, Ramirez is probably the more patient, willing to work his way into the fight behind his jab, whereas Pedraza is an aggressive presser. His footwork here is an odd mix, because positionally he knows very well what he should be doing, cutting the ring and closing down space, but his gait can be awkward and leave him vulnerable as he moves. He also doesn’t exit or protect himself well after throwing, something which both Gervonta Davis and Jose Zepeda took advantage of to land shots with. Ramirez is a more straight-lined fighter than either of those, but what he does have is a readiness to throw a final, off-beat punch after an inside exchange has seemingly finished and an opponent thinks he’s safe, which should stand him in good stead here. Combine that with that willingness to be patient and he should be able to pick on Pedraza’s more vulnerable moments to eke out a win and possibly a KO, but it’s not likely to be an easy one.
The rest of the card features a featherweight clash between Joet Gonzalez and Jeo Santisima, plus Gabriel Flores Jr (at super-featherweight) and Hector Tanajara (at lightweight) both looking to restart their track as prospects after losses last time out.
Roman Gonzalez vs Julio Cesar Martinez
Saturday March 5th
Then, on Saturday, Chocolatito returns, looking to continue the late-career resurgence that brought him a win over Kal Yafai and a closely contested loss against Juan Francisco Estrada. This was meant to be the rubber match of that rivalry, but illness on Estrada’s side meant that Martinez, a champion and destroyer of men at flyweight, took the opportunity to step up in weight and try to really break through with a win over the legend.
Both men are relentlessly aggressive pressure fighters, so it shouldn’t be boring. The concern for Gonzalez will be as always, of course- will his age catch up to him. For Martinez, it’ll be a case of hoping that potential speed and power advantages (hard to be entirely sure of since he is stepping up in weight, though of course Chocolatito is a small superfly) will overcome the huge difference in their defensive skill. Yes, Gonzalez gets hit, as anyone throwing as many punches as he does must do, but he has an excellent defensive moveset that he mostly employs to get into better places to land punches but can also turn to to stay safe when needed. Martinez… less so. In offence, he’s deceptively crafty, setting up his explosive power with smart little sidesteps in the pocket, creativity married with brutality, but defensively he’s almost comically lax, making almost no effort to protect himself at any point- not on entry, not on exit nor while throwing. He epitomises ‘take a shot to land a shot’, which is going to be a bad idea as he steps up in both skill level and weight class, and he’s doing both here.
Given this disparity, then, this becomes a battle of athleticism vs craft. If Gonzalez continues to prove the doubts about his physical levels wrong, he could win this fairly comfortably- even if he’s somewhat on the slide, he has a good shot at landing vastly more volume on JCM than the younger man does on him. The Mexican’s plan has always been about overwhelming force and intimidation- he’ll be hoping to get that home here, but unless he’s secretly improved vastly in the last few months he’ll be relying on factors not under his control. Still, however it balances out and however long it lasts, this should be a firefight.
The rest of the card is for the most part a prospect and rising-star showcase. The biggest fight here is probably Mauricio Lara, given another opportunity after his win and then unfortunate injury-caused draw with Josh Warrington. The exciting Mexican slugger will be facing off with Emilio Sanchez, who will be hoping to be the one to cause an upset this time. Also involved is lightweight Angel Fierro, who rose to prominence a year ago when he came off the canvas twice to stop former super-featherweight champion Alberto Machado- here, he’s in with Juan Carlos Burgos, who is on a losing streak but has vastly more high-level experience. We also have Souleymane Cissokho, who at 30 will be wanting to impress his way into some moves in the 154lb division, and Diego Pacheco, a 20 year old super-middlweight.