CBS Card Packed With Talent

CBS Card – Bummed about Abner Mares vs Jesus Cuellar dropping off of this Saturday’s fight card at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn?  Don’t be.

While we all know that Keith “One Time” Thurman vs “Showtime” Shawn Porter sells itself I must say that I’m not too down about losing Mares vs Cuellar.  Why?  The televised replacement fight might be even better.

I have long felt that one of the things boxing can use is prospect matchups such as the one between Jarrett Hurd and Oscar Molina that now takes the place of Mares and Cuellar.  Us boxing fans tend to say that a loss can destroy a fighter but we must not forget that it is only so because we say it is.  We now have one of those rare opportunities to show two undefeated, hungry, rearing to go prospects on national television before a huge matchup.  What’s not to like?

While we don’t know a whole lot about either man let’s review what we do know.  Hurd burst onto the scene late last year in stopping another great undefeated prospect in Frankie Galarza.  Galarza was the favorite and even had Hollywood backing in Susan Sarandon ringside.  Poor Susan would end up near tears though as her fighter was viciously beaten up and stopped after getting dropped twice by head-snapping uppercuts and further embarrassed as Hurd seemed to toy with Frankie in letting off the gas and boxing him despite having the option of taking him out for a few rounds.

Molina on the other hand squeaked out a draw in his televised breakthrough against a highly skilled and also undefeated prospect in Domonique Dolton.  Why in the world would a draw be a good thing?  Well consider the fact that Keith Thurman was given a standing eight count by Dolton in an Olympic trials war that Dolton nearly won.  Consider Dolton beat Julian “J-Rock” Williams in the amateurs, with Williams calling him the most underrated and well-hidden talent at junior middleweight.  Imagine that gym rumors were swirling that he was far too quick for Miguel Cotto in sparring sessions for Cotto’s Yuri Foreman bout.  While it sounds like I’m writing a piece on Dolton really I’m just making the point that Molina actually did great in eking out a majority draw on Dolton after putting him on Queer Street in the third round.  Molina has great footwork – extremely fast legs – and is tough to corner or time out.

Can Hurd time him out to effectively use his great reach?  Or is Molina the next slick boxer out there to dazzle us with his footwork and angles, along the lines of a Guillermo Rigondeaux?  Well, these are exactly the types of questions that this writer likes to see answered on national television.  Let’s showcase our boxing talent and support both men in winning or losing for taking on a tough bout against another stiff test on the big stage.

Also, make sure to catch the results of David Benavidez and Regis Prograis.  Both these guys should be high on prospect radars as well.

Benavidez (still just a teenager!) has looked like a phenomenal talent at light heavyweight while he has been blasting out the competition by a measuring stick of minutes, not rounds.

Prograis on the other hand had himself a special fight in his last television slot when he got a knockout off of an old-school heart shot on ShoBox in March.  Prograis is an interesting guy to follow thus far seeing as how he looks supremely gifted but yet perhaps recklessly flawed.

As previously mentioned Prograis looked like a stud last time out but looked like he was taking far too many chances in his December bout against the undefeated Abel Ramos.  While Ramos did not finish the fight it should be noted that all the blood that stopped it came from a clash of heads midway through the fight.  Previous to the head clash Prograis had his hands down at his waist and was relying on his speed and reflexes to score points.  I must ask; unless he is the next Roy Jones Jr. is that really such a great idea at the world level?  He will be taking on a tough hombre in Luis Eduardo Florez.  Florez packs a punch and if he cannot land it he lands his shots with his head bulling in.  Prograis better keep his hands up.  We will have to see if he can stick to a game plan at the top level..

By Kid Hersch (guest author)

Check out more from this author at kidhersh.com.