Three Punch Combo: The Other Inoue, the Saunders-Coceres Mismatch and More

Published

5 years ago

November 4, 2019

THREE PUNCH COMBO — The much-anticipated final of the WBSS bantamweight tournament will take place this week in Japan between IBF champion Naoya Inoue (18-0, 16 KO’s) and WBA champion Nonito Donaire (40-5, 26 KO’s). But Naoya is not the only Inoue in action on this card. On the undercard, his younger brother Takuma (13-0, 3 KO’s) will challenge for his first world title when he faces WBC bantamweight champion Nordine Oubaali (16-0, 12 KO’s).

Takuma (pictured) is clearly a different fighter than his more popular brother. Notably there is a vast difference in punching power. Many consider Naoya to be pound for pound the hardest puncher in the sport. Takuma, on the other hand, does not possess thunderous power or, for that matter, heavy hands. But like his brother, he is a sharp accurate puncher.

Since Takuma is not the puncher his brother is, his overall game is much different inside the ring. Whereas Naoya is a seek and destroy offensive minded fighter, Takuma relies on a more technical approach.

I don’t usually draw comparisons but when I first saw Takuma in action, I thought I was watching a mini version of Mikey Garcia minus the power. Fighting from the orthodox stance, Takuma likes to constantly be within range of his opponents and creates angles using subtle footwork to land pinpoint combinations. And he likes to further keep his opponents off balance by using well timed feints.

Defensively, Takuma has some things in common with his older brother. Most noticeable to me is that neither brother has any type of head movement. And like his brother, Takuma will hold his hands low in spots making him an inviting target.

These defensive flaws will almost certainly be put to the test by Oubaali, a strong bantamweight who will take the fight to Takuma. Oubaali is a heavy-handed volume puncher who is not afraid to eat some leather to land his own combinations.

The key question is whether Takuma has enough behind his shots to get Oubaali’s respect? If Takuma can’t get Oubaali’s respect, then we will probably see something similar to Oubaali’s title winning performance against Rau’shee Warren earlier this year. But if Takuma has enough behind his punches to make Oubaali think twice about unleashing his own leather, we will probably see a pair of brothers ruling the bantamweight division by evening’s end.

Who Is Marcelo Esteban Coceres?

There will be a lot of eyeballs on this Saturday’s DAZN card at the Staples Center in Los Angeles that will be headlined by YouTube stars Logan Paul and KSI (Olajide Olatunji) who will do battle in a scheduled six round cruiserweight contest. With all the attention this event is garnering, promoter Eddie Hearn is using the opportunity to showcase other fighters to a worldwide audience.

One such fighter is undefeated 168-pound champion Billy Joe Saunders (28-0, 13 KO’s) who will be defending his title against the unheralded Marcelo Esteban Coceres (28-0-1, 15 KO’s) of Argentina. While boxing fans are very familiar with Saunders, the same cannot be said of Coceres. So just who is this unbeaten Argentine and does he pose a threat to Saunders?

Coceres, 28, turned pro as a middleweight in February of 2012. After a successful debut, Coceres suffered the only blemish on his resume in his second pro fight when he fought to a four round split draw against Cesar Hernan Reynoso. Coceres’ last fight came in September when he won a ten round unanimous decision over countryman German Ignacio Peralta who entered the ring with an uninspiring record of 7-5-5.

It should be noted that all 29 of Coceres’ pro fights have taken place in his native Argentina. And his resume is loaded with names that even the most die-hard of boxing fans wouldn’t recognize. To say he has built his record with subpar opposition would be quite an understatement.

Here are some observations about Coceras drawn from the video available online. He fights from the orthodox stance and prefers to counter, though in spots he will try to initiate attacks from behind the left jab. That jab is not very strong or sharp and used primarily as a range finder.

When Coceres does throw in combination, the punches tend to be very wide and do not seem to have much behind them. As far as hand speed and overall athleticism, I would rate Coceres as below average for the 168-pound division.

Defensively, Coceres does exhibit some good head movement. But he can get very lazy when bringing the left jab back and easily countered when doing so. Additionally, Coceres has a bad habit of pulling straight back with his hands down.

From the video I have seen, there is nothing that indicates he will be any type of threat to Saunders. Coceres just does not have the power or speed to get Saunders’ respect. Plus, when Coceres does open up with those wide swinging punches, Saunders will be able to land clean counter shots in return. It should be an easy night’s work for Saunders who should be able to dispose of Coceres whenever he sees fit.

What’s Next For Ryan Garcia?

In what was supposed to be his toughest fight to date, 21-year-old lightweight contender Ryan Garcia (19-0, 16 KO’s) made quite a statement on Saturday, dispatching Romero Duno (21-2, 16 KO’s) in the first round of their scheduled 12-round fight. As the buzz around Garcia continues to build, the natural question becomes what will be next for the young phenom?

Despite the sensational performance, Garcia is still relatively green and can use some more development. Boxing politics aside, this is my way of saying that while it will be fun to talk about him facing someone like Vasiliy Lomachenko or the winner of Teofimo Lopez-Richard Commey, those fights are just not realistic at this time. Nor is it realistic to see Garcia fighting in the immediate future for one of the many title belts available in the division (though that may not be far away).

I suspect Garcia’s promoter, Golden Boy, will put him in next with seasoned veteran with a name. And the name that just jumps off the page to me is another fighter with ties to Golden Boy in former three division champion Jorge Linares.

Linares suffered a bad loss in January when he was stopped in the first round by Pablo Cesar Cano. But that fight took place at 140 and Linares returned to lightweight in September to win a ten round unanimous decision win over journeyman Al Toyogon. The bounce-back win at his more natural weight can be used by Golden Boy as a selling point to legitimize a fight with Garcia.

Garcia has been craving the opportunity to headline a big event and a fight against Linares would certainly appease Garcia in that respect as well.

If a fight with Linares cannot be put together, another option may be Masayoshi Nakatani who recently gave Teofimo Lopez a tough test while dropping a 12-round unanimous decision. It would be a good measuring stick kind of fight for Garcia and give him an opportunity to make another big statement, especially if he can perform better than Teofimo did against a common opponent.

The future certainly appears to be bright for Garcia. I suspect we see him in another step-up fight the next time out with Linares and Nakatani being the two preferred options.

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Najee Lopez Steps up in Class and Wins Impressively at Plant City

Published

1 day ago

January 24, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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Garry Jonas’ ProBox series returned to its regular home in Plant City, Florida, tonight with a card topped by a 10-round light heavyweight match between fast-rising Najee Lopez and former world title challenger Lenin Castillo. This was considered a step-up fight for the 25-year-old Lopez, an Atlanta-born-fighter of Puerto Rican heritage. Although the 36-year-old Castillo had lost two of his last three heading in, he had gone the distance with Dimitry Bivol and Marcus Browne and been stopped only once (by Callum Smith).

Lopez landed the cleaner punches throughout. Although Castillo seemed unfazed during the first half of the fight, he returned to his corner at the end of round five exhibiting signs of a fractured jaw.

In the next round, Lopez cornered him against the ropes and knocked him through the ropes with a left-right combination. Referee Emil Lombardo could have stopped the fight right there, but he allowed the courageous Castillo to carry on for a bit longer, finally stopping the fight as Castillo’s corner and a Florida commissioner were signaling that it was over.

The official time was 2:36 of round six. Bigger fights await the talented Lopez who improved to 13-0 with his tenth win inside the distance. Castillo declined to 25-7-1.

Co-Feature

In a stinker of a heavyweight fight, Stanley Wright, a paunchy, 34-year-old North Carolina journeyman, scored a big upset with a 10-round unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Jeremiah Milton.

Wright carried 280 pounds, 100 pounds more than in his pro debut 11 years ago. Although he was undefeated (13-0, 11 KOs), he had never defeated an opponent with a winning record and his last four opponents were a miserable 19-48-2. Moreover, he took the fight on short notice.

What Wright had going for him was fast hands and, in the opening round, he put Milton on the canvas with a straight right hand. From that point, Milton fought tentatively and Wright, looking fatigued as early as the fourth round, fought only in spurts. It seemed doubtful that he could last the distance, but Milton, the subject of a 2021 profile in these pages, was wary of Wright’s power and unable to capitalize. “It’s almost as if Milton is afraid to win,” said ringside commentator Chris Algieri during the ninth stanza when the bout had devolved into a hugfest.

The judges had it 96-93 and 97-92 twice for the victorious Wright who boosted his record to 14-0 without improving his stature.

Also

In the TV opener, a 10-round contest in the junior middleweight division, Najee Lopez stablemate Darrelle Valsaint (12-0, 10 KOs) scored his career-best win with a second-round knockout of 35-year-old Dutch globetrotter Stephen Danyo (23-7-3).

A native Floridian of Haitian descent, the 22-year-old Valsaint was making his eighth start in Plant City. He rocked Danyo with a chopping right hand high on the temple and then, as Danyo slumped forward, applied the exclamation point, a short left uppercut. The official time was 2:17 of round two.

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Japanese Superstar Naoya Inoue is Headed to Vegas after KOing Ye Joon Kim

Published

1 day ago

January 24, 2025

Arne K. Lang

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Japan’s magnificent Naoya Inoue, appearing in his twenty-fourth title fight, scored his 11^th straight stoppage tonight while successfully defending his unified super bantamweight title, advancing his record to 29-0 (26 KOs) at the expense of Ye Joon Kim. The match at Tokyo’s Ariake Arena came to an end at the 2:25 mark of round four when U.S. referee Mark Nelson tolled “10” over the brave but overmatched Korean.

Kim, raised in a Seoul orphanage, had a few good moments, but the “Monster” found his rhythm in the third round, leaving Kim with a purplish welt under his left eye. In the next frame, he brought the match to a conclusion, staggering the Korean with a left and then finishing matters with an overhand right that put Kim on the seat of his pants, dazed and wincing in pain.

Kim, who brought a 21-2-2 record, took the fight on 10 days’ notice, replacing Australia’s Sam Goodman who suffered an eye injury in sparring that never healed properly, forcing him to withdraw twice.

Co-promoter Bob Arum, who was in the building, announced that Inoue’s next fight would happen in Las Vegas in the Spring. Speculation centers on Mexico City’s Alan Picasso (31-0-1, 17 KOs) who is ranked #1 by the WBC. However, there’s also speculation that the 31-year-old Inoue may move up to featherweight and seek to win a title in a fifth weight class, in which case a potential opponent is Brandon Figueroa should he defeat former Inoue foe Stephen Fulton next weekend. In “olden days,” this notion would have been dismissed as the Japanese superstar and Figueroa have different promoters, but the arrival of Turki Alalshikh, the sport’s Daddy Warbucks, has changed the dynamic. Tonight, Naoya Inoue made his first start as a brand ambassador for Riyadh Season.

Simmering on the backburner is a megafight with countryman Junto Nakatani, an easy fight to make as Arum has ties to both. However, the powers-that-be would prefer more “marination.”

Inoue has appeared twice in Las Vegas, scoring a seventh-round stoppage of Jason Moloney in October of 2020 at the MGM Bubble and a third-round stoppage of Michael Dasmarinas at the Virgin Hotels in June of 2021.

Semi-wind-up

In a 12-round bout for a regional welterweight title, Jin Sasaki improved to 19-1-1 (17) with a unanimous decision over Shoki Sakai (29-15-3). The scores were 118-110, 117-111, and 116-112.

Also

In a bout in which both contestants were on the canvas, Toshiki Shimomachi (20-1-3) edged out Misaki Hirano (11-2), winning a majority decision. A 28-year-old Osaka southpaw with a fan-friendly style, the lanky Shimomachi, unbeaten in his last 22 starts, competes as a super bantamweight. A match with Inoue may be in his future.

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Eric Priest Wins Handily on Thursday’s Golden Boy card at the Commerce Casino

Published

2 days ago

January 24, 2025

David A. Avila

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Model turned fighter Eric Priest jabbed and jolted his way into the super middleweight rankings with a shutout decision win over veteran Tyler Howard on Thursday.

In his first main event Priest (15-0, 8 KOs) proved ready for contender status by defusing every attack Tennessee’s Howard (20-3, 11 KOs) could muster at Commerce Casino, the second fight in six days at the LA County venue.

All ticket monies collected on the Folden Boy Promotions card were contributed to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation as they battle wildfires sprouting all over Los Angeles County due to high winds.

Priest, 26, had never fought anyone near Howard’s caliber but used a ramrod jab to keep the veteran off-balance and unable to muster a forceful counter-attack. Round after round the Korean-American fighter pumped left jabs while circling his opposition.

Though hit with power shots, none seemed to faze Howard but his own blows were unable to put a dent in Priest. After 10 rounds of the same repetitive action all three judges scored the fight 100-90 for Priest who now wins a regional super middleweight title.

Priest also joins the top 15 rankings of the WBA organization.

In a fight between evenly matched middleweights, Jordan Panthen (11-0, 9 KOs) remained undefeated after 10 rounds versus DeAundre Pettus (12-4, 7 KOs). Though equally skilled, Panthen simply out-worked the South Caroliina fighter to win by unanimous decision. No knockdowns were scored.

Other Bouts

Grant Flores (8-0, 6 KOs) knocked out Costa Rica’s David Lobo Ramirez (17-4, 12 KOs) with two successive right uppercuts at 2:59 of the second round of the super welterweight fight.

Cayden Griffith (3-0, 3 KOs) used a left hook to the body to stop Mark Misiura at 1:43 of the second round in a super welterweight bout.

Jordan Fuentes (3-0) floored Brandon Badillo (0-3-1) in the third round and proceeded to win by decision after four rounds in a super bantamweight fight.

A super featherweight match saw Leonardo Sanchez (8-0) win by decision over Joseph Cruz Brown (10-12) after six rounds.

Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy

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