3 Punch Combo: Notes on Saturday’s Top Rank Card and Friday’s ‘Sho-Box’ Overture

3 Punch Combo: Notes on Saturday’s Top Rank Card and Friday’s ‘Sho-Box’ Overture

THREE PUNCH COMBO — Light heavyweight is currently one of the deepest divisions in boxing. While superstar Canelo Alvarez appears to be one-and-done, the top end is still loaded with talent and just a step below are many viable contenders knocking at the door. In order to get a title shot against one of the division’s elite such as Artur Beterbiev (15-0, 15 KO’s) or Dmitry Bivol (17-0, 11 KO’s), these contenders must square off against one another to separate themselves from the pack.

This Saturday at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, NY we see two such contenders meet when former WBO light heavyweight champion Eleider Alvarez (24-1, 12 KO’s) squares off against Michael Seals (24-2, 18 KO’s). The winner is all but guaranteed to get a much bigger fight later this year.

Alvarez (pictured) is a former decorated amateur who holds some big wins as a pro against several former world champions. The biggest of those wins came in August of 2018 when Alvarez shockingly knocked out Sergey Kovalev to take Kovalev’s WBO light heavyweight title. However, in the rematch six months later Alvarez would lose a lopsided decision in a fight in which he was easily out-boxed.

Alvarez, 35, is by trade a boxer-puncher. Technically sound, he likes to work behind the left jab looking to land the right behind it. This is how he set up the fight-altering knockdown of Kovalev in their first fight. In addition, Alvarez is an excellent counterpuncher and generally keeps a very tight defense.

His biggest flaw is his work rate. He is not a high-volume puncher and can get out-worked as we saw in the rematch with Kovalev.

Seals, 37, does not have a comparable amateur background or resume as a pro. But what Seals does have is natural athleticism. Similar to Alvarez, Seals is a boxer-puncher who will look to work behind the left jab. While he may not be as technically proficient as Alvarez, Seals does possess much quicker hands and has more power in each of his fists. And he has shown a willingness to keep his hands busy even if that means getting into a firefight.

Defensively, Seals has some issues. He often holds his left low and does not exhibit much head movement. In short, he is not hard to miss and this could be an issue against Alvarez.

I like this fight a lot as each fighter has the tools to expose the other’s weaknesses. Alvarez could find a home for the right hand behind the left jab with frequency, but Alvarez will also have plenty of dead spots and Seals with his quick hands should dominate those moments. There is plenty of intrigue to this bout and I have been looking forward to it since it was announced.

The Return of Felix Verdejo

One time blue-chip prospect Felix Verdejo (25-1, 16 KO’s) will make his return to the ring on Saturday when he faces Manuel Rey Rojas (18-3, 5 KO’s) in the Turning Stone co-feature. a scheduled ten round lightweight bout. This will mark just the third time Verdejo has fought since his stunning loss to Antonio Lozada in March of 2018 and will mark his first fight with new trainer Ismael Salas.

2020 is a critical year for the now 26-year-old Verdejo whose career, for a variety of reasons, has not gone as planned. But as I have alluded to in the past when writing about him, the talent is still there and he still has time to get things turned around.

In his last fight in April, Verdejo scored arguably his best win as a pro when he won a ten round unanimous decision over Bryan Vasquez. But his performance lacked sizzle. He gets a chance at a fresh start with Salas in his corner to start 2020 and will need to put on a show to get some buzz back in his career.

Rojas is a 26-year-old journeyman who is on six fight winning streak since getting stopped by Andy Vences in the second round back in December of 2015.

On paper, this is a spot where Verdejo will shine. Anything less would be a major step back. But assuming Verdejo can look like his old self, he could soon be in line for a major fight. With Vasiliy Lomachenko likely to fight Teofimo Lopez in the first part of the year in a major lightweight unification fight, Verdejo could find himself in the ring with the winner or loser in what would be a big fight towards the end of the year.

ShoBox Returns

The popular prospect-oriented series ShoBox returns on Friday with a tripleheader from the WinnaVegas Casino & Resort in Sloan, IA. The card is headlined by fast rising super middleweight Vladimir Shishkin (9-0, 6 KO’s) who takes on the unbeaten Ulises Sierra (15-0-2, 9 KO’s) in a ten round contest.

Shishkin, a 28-year-old Russian who trains under Javon “Sugar” Hill in Detroit, reportedly had more than 300 amateur bouts. He is coming off a pair of impressive performances.

In October of 2018, Shishkin stopped former world title challenger Nadjib Mohammedi in the tenth round of their scheduled twelve round fight. The following August, he made his U.S. debut on ShoBox against Andre Ware.

Ware was coming off an upset over the highly touted Ronald Ellis and many thought he posed a threat to Shishkin. But from the opening bell, Shishkin consistently found a way to land precision, heavy handed shots on Ware until the fight was stopped in the eighth round.

Shishkin can best be described as an aggressive boxer-puncher. He likes to press forward working combinations behind a ramrod-like left jab which is itself a major weapon. His footwork is excellent as evidenced in the Ware fight and he often positions himself at just the right angles to land precision heavy handed combinations. His hand speed is above average and his defense surprisingly very sound for such an aggressive style.

In this day and age in boxing, usually some video exits on everyone. Well, for Ulises Sierra, 30, there is almost nothing out there on him. What we do know is that his gaudy record was built on subpar opposition; he’s faced only three fighters with a winning record. His best win came his last time out in April when he won a ten round unanimous decision over 41-year-old journeyman Fidel Hernandez.

On paper this looks a showcase for Shishkin. But Sierra’s unbeaten record adds a little intrigue. I am interested to see how Shishkin performs as he could very well get a title shot before the year ends.

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