Latest / Big Dog Lukie Boxing Podcast / Fight Preview: Inoue-Goodman, Pacheco-Nelson

Transcript

Fight Preview: Inoue-Goodman, Pacheco-Nelson · Big Dog Lukie Boxing Podcast

0:00
So Nao in a way has a new opponent and he completely screwed up
0:03
my content creation
0:05
SPEAKER_01: business for this month.
0:07
SPEAKER_01: I pre-recorded a great show with Anthony Saladonna,
0:10
SPEAKER_01: which we're still going to use,
0:11
SPEAKER_01: which was a preview of Sam Goodman.
0:14
Now he is fighting an opponent where I have to look over off
0:17
screen and tell you the guy's name.
0:21
Yee-Joon Kim and my possible undiagnosed dyslexia wants me to
0:26
say his name not the
0:28
SPEAKER_01: way his name is.
0:30
SPEAKER_01: So what do we know about Yi Jun Kim?
0:32
SPEAKER_01: Well,
0:33
he's got two knockout wins in Thailand and he lost a fight to a
0:38
good but not great
0:40
SPEAKER_01: veteran journeyman in America,
0:42
SPEAKER_01: Rob Diesel.
0:43
SPEAKER_01: That's his only fight in America.
0:45
Kind of an undistinguished fighter to be fighting one of the
0:49
best modern fighters
0:51
SPEAKER_01: in NAO in a way,
0:52
SPEAKER_01: but the fight also is happening on 13 days.
0:55
in a way gave up fighting on christmas eve pushed it back to
0:58
january this feels
1:00
like they're just trying to get the fight done more than likely
1:03
i would expect
1:04
they're not going to revisit a fight with sam goodman given the
1:08
issues this fight
1:09
SPEAKER_01: has kind of ran into but who who who and what do i know right
1:17
I'm always a little weird when this stuff happens because you
1:20
never in boxing want
1:21
to be arrogant in a way has the talent where this shouldn't be
1:24
a weird fight at all.
1:26
SPEAKER_01: This should be a very predictable fight.
1:28
This should be a great fighter getting a predictable knockout
1:31
win and looking to
1:32
SPEAKER_01: fight guys like Alan Picasso,
1:34
SPEAKER_01: make a mandatory defense and then take on some other fights later on.
1:38
SPEAKER_01: That being said,
1:39
SPEAKER_01: I'm always nervous at last-minute replacements,
1:43
SPEAKER_01: and maybe I give them too much credit,
1:46
SPEAKER_01: but I think there's also a part of me,
1:48
SPEAKER_01: and you'll hear this in the show I recorded with Staxx,
1:52
SPEAKER_01: Where I do think in a way right now is coming down from where he was at.
1:59
SPEAKER_01: He took a lot of hard fights.
2:00
SPEAKER_01: He did a lot of great things.
2:02
But I do think that there's a level of he's hitting a physical
2:08
ability ceiling right now.
2:09
SPEAKER_01: He's kind of hitting his prime.
2:12
And he's taken a lot of hard fights where he can't quite get
2:14
back to where he was
2:15
SPEAKER_01: at some points in his career.
2:18
SPEAKER_01: That being said, I think he has more than enough to win this fight.
2:21
and it probably will be the knockout of the month in January if
2:24
I had to guess.
2:26
SPEAKER_01: So that's about all I can do for the fight preview.
2:29
SPEAKER_01: Because we taped a show prior,
2:32
SPEAKER_01: I'm going to now cut to that show I did with Anthony Saladona,
2:36
SPEAKER_01: previewing the Sam Goodman fight.
2:38
SPEAKER_01: So if that ever happens...
2:40
SPEAKER_01: you can revisit this.
2:42
SPEAKER_01: The way we do it, we do two.
2:44
SPEAKER_01: This week, we're going to do two fight breakdowns.
2:46
And then if you want the full show,
2:47
you go to my newsletter,
2:48
leukieboxing.substack.com.
2:50
SPEAKER_01: This week,
2:51
SPEAKER_01: we're joined by Anthony Stacks Saladonna,
2:54
SPEAKER_01: one of my favorite personalities in all boxing.
2:56
And I think one of the most underutilized resources and pieces
3:00
of knowledge in the
3:01
SPEAKER_01: Southern California boxing scene.
3:03
SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Stacks, for coming on.
3:06
SPEAKER_00: Thank you for having me, Lukey, as always.
3:09
SPEAKER_00: It's a pleasure.
3:10
So I'm glad that you contacted me,
3:12
man,
3:12
and glad I can be on to help you out with these...
3:15
SPEAKER_00: these breakdowns of the fights.
3:17
SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
3:17
SPEAKER_01: So let's give people some stuff.
3:19
Obviously we're going to go through two fights because there's
3:22
two big fights for
3:23
SPEAKER_01: the week that's coming out that I'm pre-recording this for.
3:25
So people are going to be very interested in the obvious one is
3:28
Neo in a way,
3:29
the monster.
3:30
SPEAKER_01: Most people just know him as the monster.
3:32
SPEAKER_01: They say monster.
3:33
SPEAKER_01: It's taking on Sam Goodman.
3:34
SPEAKER_01: What are your kind of observations and thoughts going into this one?
3:38
Oh,
3:38
you know,
3:39
I think it's just a stay busy type fight for the monster,
3:43
you know,
3:44
at 22.
3:45
SPEAKER_00: He'll be defending his undisputed title once again.
3:50
SPEAKER_00: I believe it's his third or fourth time that he's doing this now.
3:54
SPEAKER_00: And, you know, in a way he's coming...
3:58
SPEAKER_00: I expect it to be a quick fight.
4:01
SPEAKER_00: I expect him to bring the pressure early to hurt Goodman.
4:05
Goodman's not going to want to get hit because of that cut that
4:08
he suffered in training camp.
4:09
SPEAKER_00: It was a pretty grotesque type of cut.
4:12
SPEAKER_00: Honestly,
4:13
SPEAKER_00: as well as I do,
4:15
SPEAKER_00: when fighters get cut,
4:16
SPEAKER_00: especially here in California,
4:18
SPEAKER_00: you get that automatic 90-day suspension.
4:21
SPEAKER_00: I don't see that cut getting healed and
4:25
SPEAKER_00: you know, any less time than that.
4:27
SPEAKER_00: But, you know, they're pushing forward, you know, January 24th.
4:32
SPEAKER_00: And I just don't, I don't see it as a very competitive fight.
4:36
So I originally saw this as a competitive fight because I think
4:39
Goodman's underrated.
4:41
SPEAKER_01: To me,
4:41
the fact that the fight's happening so quick after the cut to
4:45
me speaks to probably
4:46
how much money they're going to make and that they wanted this
4:49
fight to happen
4:51
SPEAKER_01: because I just,
4:51
I don't think you can fight one of the best fighters in the
4:54
world with basically a
4:56
SPEAKER_01: severe disadvantage.
4:59
SPEAKER_00: No, and it's going to make a lot of money.
5:01
SPEAKER_00: You know,
5:02
SPEAKER_00: when he fought Lewis Canary,
5:03
he fought in front of a crowd of 50,000 people at the Tokyo
5:07
Dome in Japan.
5:09
SPEAKER_00: And, you know, he's a household name in Japan.
5:12
SPEAKER_00: He is, he's a rock star.
5:14
SPEAKER_00: I think right under Shohei Otani, you have Inoue.
5:20
And I think what people are expecting is,
5:23
you know,
5:23
a super fight soon with Junto Nakatani.
5:27
SPEAKER_01: And that's a great fight.
5:28
SPEAKER_01: And Junto, you know, he's got those L.A.
5:31
SPEAKER_01: ties with Rudy Hernandez and all that stuff.
5:33
SPEAKER_01: That's a great fight.
5:36
Is there a chance that in a way is kind of we've seen his best
5:40
and he's kind of
5:41
SPEAKER_01: coming down from his apex?
5:48
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if.
5:51
SPEAKER_00: If we've seen his best,
5:52
but I think what tends to happen is what happens with a lot of
5:56
fighters is they
5:57
SPEAKER_00: tend to fight down to the level of their competition.
6:00
SPEAKER_00: We've seen that when he took on Nonito Donaire.
6:03
SPEAKER_00: And that's one thing,
6:04
SPEAKER_00: you know,
6:05
SPEAKER_00: we,
6:06
SPEAKER_00: I think the general public need to understand,
6:08
SPEAKER_00: you know,
6:09
SPEAKER_00: I mean,
6:09
SPEAKER_00: once you get to that apex,
6:11
SPEAKER_00: once you get so high,
6:14
SPEAKER_00: there's only so many big super fights out there.
6:16
And when you're not,
6:17
you're that rock star,
6:19
you're that superstar in your own country.
6:20
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes,
6:22
SPEAKER_00: you know,
6:22
SPEAKER_00: you don't tend to train as hard because you,
6:25
SPEAKER_00: you know,
6:25
SPEAKER_00: you,
6:25
SPEAKER_00: you see these odds of a minus 2000 of a minus 2,500 and,
6:32
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes I forget that.
6:34
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes I think they forget that all it takes is one punch.
6:37
SPEAKER_00: And it can change the course of a fight.
6:41
SPEAKER_00: And I don't know if he's reached his apex.
6:43
SPEAKER_00: I still think he has quite a bit of greatness in him.
6:47
SPEAKER_00: But it could be coming soon.
6:50
And I think that question is going to be questioned quite a bit
6:55
more if he does
6:56
SPEAKER_00: make that jump to featherweight at 126 pounds.
7:01
SPEAKER_01: And I'm kind of hoping he doesn't,
7:03
SPEAKER_01: to be honest with you,
7:04
SPEAKER_01: because we have MJ,
7:06
SPEAKER_01: who's a really good fighter.
7:07
SPEAKER_01: We got Junto Nakatani, and we got Jesse Bam Rodriguez.
7:10
SPEAKER_01: And within the next two to three years, those fights all should be made.
7:15
And I feel like if Inoue goes to 126,
7:18
he's not going to have the same size.
7:21
SPEAKER_01: that he's had in these others.
7:23
And there's going to be a level of where his power hits a
7:26
ceiling with certain guys.
7:27
Like a guy like Espinosa is going to be a foot taller than him
7:30
and hit a lot harder than him.
7:32
SPEAKER_01: And I think what's been exciting to me about Inouye has been,
7:36
he has the traits of a guy that we don't usually see at these
7:39
lower weights,
7:40
SPEAKER_01: where he has these great,
7:41
SPEAKER_01: this great hand-eye coordination and timing.
7:44
SPEAKER_01: And he's like a Terrence Crawford or a Floyd Mayweather.
7:47
SPEAKER_01: He has...
7:48
SPEAKER_01: attributes kind of like the great smaller fighters like your guy,
7:52
SPEAKER_01: Michael Carbajal and Finito Lopez.
7:54
But we don't traditionally see that many of those fighters in
7:57
these lower weights.
7:58
SPEAKER_01: And I think if he gets to featherweight,
8:00
SPEAKER_01: we're going to start to see kind of his physical limit,
8:03
SPEAKER_01: which I don't think will be fun for a lot of people.
8:06
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
8:06
SPEAKER_00: And,
8:07
SPEAKER_00: you know,
8:07
SPEAKER_00: when you talk about those type of fighters,
8:09
SPEAKER_00: you know,
8:10
SPEAKER_00: I've seen it personally with Chucolapito,
8:14
SPEAKER_00: you know,
8:14
SPEAKER_00: with Roman Gonzalez as he moved up.
8:17
SPEAKER_00: And he got ready and did something that Alexis Aguayo couldn't do.
8:22
He became a four-division world champion going up to the
8:25
Superfly division and
8:26
SPEAKER_00: capturing that title against Carlos Cuadres.
8:30
SPEAKER_00: But yet a few months later,
8:32
SPEAKER_00: He ran into the buzzsaw, which we all know of Sekrit Soarangvasai.
8:37
SPEAKER_00: And Soarangvasai actually hurt him,
8:40
SPEAKER_00: cut him very bad in their first fight,
8:43
SPEAKER_00: which he lost in New York City.
8:45
And then the rematch was completely knocked out cold at the
8:51
suburb center.
8:52
SPEAKER_00: And with these smaller fighters, when they get to that level,
8:56
SPEAKER_00: you know, you hit the nail on the head.
8:58
You know,
8:58
that power can only carry so far with some of these smaller fighters.
9:02
You know,
9:02
I think the,
9:04
you know,
9:05
the exception,
9:05
of course,
9:07
is Manny Pacquiao.
9:09
But I think Pacquiao just got bigger due to the fact that he
9:14
was never in fighting shape.
9:17
SPEAKER_00: He was malnutrition and he was going to get bigger.
9:19
SPEAKER_00: You know, we all seen the way Manny
9:22
SPEAKER_00: where he came from and the type of fighter he was, he continued to grow.
9:26
He continued to be,
9:28
you know,
9:28
a bigger fighter moving up those weight classes.
9:30
But I don't see that with somebody that's already in tip-top
9:36
athletic shape at that weight.
9:38
So,
9:39
you know,
9:39
for any way to move up and carry that much weight,
9:43
he may lose speed.
9:44
SPEAKER_00: He may lose power.
9:45
SPEAKER_00: He is going to get hit by –
9:48
by men that know how to punch and that hit harder than he's
9:51
ever been hit before.
9:53
SPEAKER_00: He has had his orbitable,
9:55
SPEAKER_00: like I said,
9:56
SPEAKER_00: broken by Nonito Dinero,
9:57
SPEAKER_00: so it's dangerous for him to move up to 26.
10:01
And I'm not saying he can't go up there and capture a
10:03
championship or can't win,
10:05
SPEAKER_00: but these fights are a lot more
10:08
SPEAKER_00: a lot more dangerous than where he's at at 22.
10:11
SPEAKER_00: And like you said,
10:11
there's several opportunities for him to continue to add to his
10:16
legacies with
10:17
SPEAKER_00: fighters like Bam Rodriguez,
10:18
SPEAKER_00: like Junto Nakatani there at the lower weight.
10:23
SPEAKER_01: Yeah,
10:24
now we're going to switch over to the other big fight preview
10:27
that we're going to
10:27
SPEAKER_01: do this week,
10:28
SPEAKER_01: and that's Diego Pacheco versus Steven Nelson.
10:31
Pacheco is someone that I know you've had experience being in
10:34
the Los Angeles area.
10:35
SPEAKER_01: You've experienced him to a certain degree.
10:38
SPEAKER_01: This is a big fight for both guys.
10:40
SPEAKER_01: They're in different stages of their career.
10:41
SPEAKER_01: Pacheco's the young kid looking to be a title challenger.
10:45
SPEAKER_01: Steve Nelson's closer to my age than he is Diego Pacheco's age.
10:50
SPEAKER_01: And, yeah, I'm just kind of curious how you think this fight plays out.
10:56
You know,
10:56
you have Stevie Nelson coming into the fight,
10:58
who's 36 years old.
11:00
He's taken time off of boxing several times in his career where
11:04
he's had...
11:06
SPEAKER_00: lapses there where he didn't fight.
11:08
SPEAKER_00: He does train with some of the best.
11:10
I know he was training in Omaha with Crawford for a while
11:13
before he moved his camp to Las Vegas.
11:16
SPEAKER_00: And he's out to prove something.
11:19
SPEAKER_00: He's a heavy hitter.
11:21
SPEAKER_00: He's going to throw body shots.
11:22
SPEAKER_00: He's going to try to bring the pressure to Pacheco.
11:26
SPEAKER_00: But with Diego moving camps a few years back,
11:32
SPEAKER_00: and training with,
11:34
SPEAKER_00: you know,
11:34
SPEAKER_00: Jose Benavides,
11:35
SPEAKER_00: I think he's just got that,
11:37
SPEAKER_00: he's just moved on to a different level.
11:40
SPEAKER_00: You know,
11:40
SPEAKER_00: getting the best sparring in the world with David Benavides,
11:44
SPEAKER_00: training up there with Jose,
11:46
SPEAKER_00: I think,
11:46
SPEAKER_00: you know,
11:47
SPEAKER_00: being 23 years old,
11:49
SPEAKER_00: He's young.
11:49
SPEAKER_00: He's learning.
11:52
SPEAKER_00: And I think his power,
11:55
SPEAKER_00: his reach,
11:55
and his boxing knowledge is just a little bit better than
11:58
Stevie Nelson's.
12:00
I think Stevie's going to try to be a little too anxious to get
12:04
in there and to try
12:05
SPEAKER_00: to prove himself.
12:07
SPEAKER_00: And that's where he's going to get caught and get hurt.
12:12
SPEAKER_00: But definitely a great fight.
12:16
SPEAKER_00: Definitely...
12:19
It's going to allow people that aren't in the boxing community
12:22
to know who Stevie Nelson is.
12:25
SPEAKER_00: It's going to showcase him.
12:27
SPEAKER_01: Well,
12:27
SPEAKER_01: I think it's also a real fight,
12:29
SPEAKER_01: and I think Diego,
12:31
one thing that he doesn't get credit for is Diego's been taking
12:33
a lot of tough
12:34
SPEAKER_01: fights that don't really benefit him per se in terms of fans,
12:39
SPEAKER_01: but he's really taken hard fights.
12:41
Like Sean McCallum is a really hard fight,
12:43
and he took that fight with no hesitation.
12:46
SPEAKER_01: For me,
12:47
SPEAKER_01: if Pacheco can win this fight,
12:48
SPEAKER_01: which I think there is an if to it,
12:51
he deserves a world title opportunity because this is a title
12:55
eliminator type fight.
12:57
SPEAKER_00: You know, yeah, it really is, you know, and then.
13:00
SPEAKER_00: I don't know if he'll if he'll get Canelo,
13:06
SPEAKER_00: you know,
13:06
SPEAKER_00: I don't know what titles are going to be there for him at 68,
13:11
SPEAKER_00: you know,
13:11
SPEAKER_00: if he if he fights at 68.
13:17
SPEAKER_00: You know,
13:17
SPEAKER_00: you got William Scull that's in the mix now to fight Canelo,
13:21
SPEAKER_00: making Canelo a two-time undisputed champion.
13:25
SPEAKER_00: But yeah,
13:26
SPEAKER_00: I think he's at that level now where the names like,
13:29
SPEAKER_00: you know,
13:30
SPEAKER_00: the Jaime Munguillas,
13:31
SPEAKER_00: the Caleb Plants,
13:33
SPEAKER_00: you know,
13:33
SPEAKER_00: the Berlangos all come into play for Pacheco now.
13:39
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so that's our breakdown of these two fights.
13:43
SPEAKER_01: Now,
13:43
for those that want to hear the rest of our thoughts about the
13:46
undercard attraction,
13:47
SPEAKER_01: go to my newsletter or the road stops right here for you.
13:51
SPEAKER_01: Okay, so I'm going to throw to you some of these interesting sidebars.
13:56
SPEAKER_01: Jin Sasaki, he's fighting on the Inouye card.
13:59
SPEAKER_01: How serious of a guy do you think he is at the welterweight division?
14:05
SPEAKER_00: At the welterweight, I think he can make noise, and I tell you why.
14:08
Because the welterweight division is not anything like we're
14:12
used to seeing.
14:13
SPEAKER_00: You know, the welterweight has always been the cream of the crops.
14:16
SPEAKER_00: You know,
14:17
SPEAKER_00: you've had from...
14:20
SPEAKER_00: And I'll just go back to the 90s,
14:22
SPEAKER_00: you know,
14:23
SPEAKER_00: names like Miguel Cotto,
14:25
SPEAKER_00: Zab Judah,
14:27
SPEAKER_00: Oscar De La Hoya,
14:30
SPEAKER_00: Sugar Shane Mosley,
14:32
SPEAKER_00: all the way up through...
14:34
SPEAKER_00: You know, Amir Khan, Floyd Mayweather.
14:37
SPEAKER_00: And you just don't have that level of competition anymore.
14:40
SPEAKER_00: You know, you have a Mario Barrios there.
14:44
SPEAKER_00: No disrespect to Mario Barrios,
14:46
but he's not that generational type talent that we're used to
14:51
seeing in the division.
14:53
And I think the division is open just about for any top
14:57
competitor to become a world champion.
15:03
SPEAKER_00: I like to call them title holders.
15:05
SPEAKER_00: You know, you get in and you win a title on your title holder.
15:10
SPEAKER_00: And sometimes I come off as being a little bit disrespectful there.
15:14
But I think there's a difference between being a world champion
15:17
and being a title holder.
15:19
SPEAKER_00: And I think at 47 right now, a lot of these guys would be title holders.
15:24
SPEAKER_00: You know,
15:25
it's tough for them to be the class that's there now to become
15:30
legendary and to
15:30
SPEAKER_00: become world champions,
15:32
SPEAKER_00: as we know.
15:34
SPEAKER_01: Okay, I agree.
15:35
SPEAKER_01: Jason Langendorf would love you because that's a big thing that he does.
15:39
SPEAKER_01: Let's talk about this Golden Boy card, Eric Priest versus Tyler Howard.
15:43
SPEAKER_01: To me, this is a real fight.
15:45
Priest,
15:46
very athletic,
15:47
has some pedigree,
15:48
but he's also kind of really raw to me.
15:51
SPEAKER_01: And Tyler Howard is a guy that's never really put it together.
15:56
He was with Top Rank for some time,
15:57
but he's got a good coach in Bobby Benton.
16:00
um i really think this is like a 50 50 kind of prove it fight
16:04
for eric you know and
16:07
golden boy has had several of their prospects get beat um i i
16:14
don't know who's
16:15
matchmaking i don't know if it's razo that's matchmaking for
16:17
them now but it seems
16:19
like in the last few years you've had several of their
16:22
prospects get get beat get
16:25
SPEAKER_00: you know and um this is definitely a fight that
16:30
Eric is going to have to go into a hundred percent focused and
16:33
a hundred percent
16:33
ready because you have somebody that has that professional
16:37
pedigree that's been in
16:38
SPEAKER_00: the ring.
16:40
SPEAKER_00: And it's,
16:41
SPEAKER_00: it's nothing for him to take on a,
16:43
SPEAKER_00: an undefeated prospect like,
16:44
SPEAKER_00: like preached,
16:45
SPEAKER_00: you know?
16:47
So yeah,
16:48
definitely a dangerous fight for,
16:51
for Eric going into that fight.
16:53
SPEAKER_01: What's your initial thought on that?
16:54
SPEAKER_01: What do you like, who would you favor?
16:57
SPEAKER_01: What are your thoughts on that?
17:00
SPEAKER_00: You know, I like Priest's speed.
17:07
SPEAKER_00: I think he's learning on the game.
17:09
SPEAKER_00: Like you said, he's still really raw.
17:12
Sometimes he doesn't always listen to his coaches and tries to
17:17
circumvent back to
17:19
SPEAKER_00: his old ways,
17:20
SPEAKER_00: and that's where he gets caught and he gets hit.
17:22
And if he does that,
17:23
I think it's going to be a mistake for Eric,
17:24
and he may lose the fight.
17:27
SPEAKER_00: If he sticks with the game plan –
17:31
boxes and and waits for his opportunity then i i think he's got
17:38
a better a better
17:39
shot at the at the you know coming away victorious especially
17:43
we know the way the
17:45
the scorecards are sometimes you know for that for that a side
17:49
so um but i i think
17:52
SPEAKER_00: it's a very interesting fight very interesting fight
17:57
SPEAKER_01: On Pro Box, they got Najee Lopez against Lennon Castillo.
18:00
Lennon Castillo has only been stopped once by Callum Smith,
18:03
who's a real puncher.
18:04
SPEAKER_01: To me, Najee Lopez is a guy that I really am high on.
18:08
SPEAKER_01: That being said, he's been dropped in some fights.
18:10
SPEAKER_01: He's had a majority decision fight.
18:12
SPEAKER_01: He's kind of gone through the school of hard knocks to get built up,
18:16
SPEAKER_01: but I see a lot of potential in Najee right now.
18:20
SPEAKER_01: Um,
18:20
SPEAKER_01: another interesting undercard fight on that is,
18:23
SPEAKER_01: uh,
18:23
SPEAKER_01: Jeremiah Milton,
18:24
SPEAKER_01: undefeated guy known for a lot of good sparring against Earl Newman.
18:28
SPEAKER_01: Are you going to be watching this pro box card and you have any thoughts?
18:31
SPEAKER_00: You know, I, I am going to be, be watching it.
18:34
Um,
18:34
you know,
18:35
I,
18:35
I think like you said,
18:36
Najee's,
18:36
uh,
18:37
Lopez is,
18:38
uh,
18:38
he's an entertaining fighter.
18:39
SPEAKER_00: He's been in there.
18:40
SPEAKER_00: He's, he's, he's fought, you know, um, the who's who of, of boxing.
18:44
SPEAKER_00: And I think he's going to go in there and, and, uh,
18:47
And really surprised some people,
18:50
you know,
18:50
and that's what kind of what Pro Box does.
18:52
SPEAKER_00: I love the Pro Box series.
18:55
SPEAKER_00: I watch all their fights,
18:56
SPEAKER_00: you know,
18:58
SPEAKER_00: and they really put together some of the best matches,
19:01
SPEAKER_00: you know,
19:01
SPEAKER_00: and I think that's,
19:04
SPEAKER_00: you know,
19:04
one of the things I think we forgot to fail to mention as well
19:07
is on that show.
19:09
SPEAKER_00: On that Diego Pacheco undercard,
19:13
SPEAKER_00: you know,
19:13
you have Andy Cruz in the co-main event that's going up against
19:17
a pro box.
19:18
SPEAKER_01: We didn't forget.
19:19
SPEAKER_01: We're going to put that on there.
19:22
SPEAKER_01: If you don't subscribe to the newsletter, you don't get that one.
19:27
SPEAKER_00: Oh, there you go.
19:27
SPEAKER_00: You got to subscribe to the newsletter.
19:29
SPEAKER_00: But again, you have another pro box veteran going up against Andy Cruz.
19:33
SPEAKER_00: You know, so definitely pro box.
19:36
SPEAKER_00: um,
19:37
SPEAKER_00: they,
19:37
SPEAKER_00: they have a way of bringing these fighters up,
19:40
SPEAKER_00: you know,
19:40
SPEAKER_00: and it's,
19:41
SPEAKER_00: it seems a lot of times,
19:42
SPEAKER_00: you know,
19:42
SPEAKER_00: people are watching and they say,
19:44
SPEAKER_00: Oh,
19:44
SPEAKER_00: it's these last chance fighters for,
19:45
SPEAKER_00: you know,
19:46
SPEAKER_00: it's these last chance.
19:47
SPEAKER_00: It's not,
19:48
SPEAKER_00: these guys are bangers,
19:49
SPEAKER_00: you know,
19:49
SPEAKER_00: and,
19:49
SPEAKER_00: and I,
19:50
SPEAKER_00: I've told people that I told people that about,
19:53
SPEAKER_00: uh,
19:53
SPEAKER_00: you know,
19:54
SPEAKER_00: Venado Lopez and Angelo Leo when Angelo Leo knocked out Venado,
19:57
SPEAKER_00: you know,
19:57
SPEAKER_00: so I love the Pro Box Series,
19:59
SPEAKER_00: man,
19:59
SPEAKER_00: and I think that's going to be another good card,
20:02
SPEAKER_00: you know,
20:02
SPEAKER_00: of entertaining fights,
20:03
SPEAKER_00: you know,
20:04
SPEAKER_00: people want to say,
20:04
SPEAKER_00: oh,
20:04
SPEAKER_00: boxing is dead,
20:05
SPEAKER_00: no,
20:05
SPEAKER_00: it's not dead,
20:07
SPEAKER_00: you just got to know the cards to watch,
20:08
SPEAKER_00: you got to go out there and you got to support all the fights,
20:11
SPEAKER_00: not just the Canelos,
20:12
SPEAKER_00: not just the Benavidez versus Moral,
20:14
SPEAKER_00: not just the monster fights,
20:16
SPEAKER_00: you know,
20:16
SPEAKER_00: go out there and actually pay attention to who these guys are,
20:21
SPEAKER_00: their background,
20:21
SPEAKER_00: who they've been fighting,
20:22
SPEAKER_00: and
20:23
SPEAKER_00: you will see some entertaining fights.
20:25
SPEAKER_00: These guys really have a lot to be fighting for.
20:29
SPEAKER_01: Well,
20:29
SPEAKER_01: my favorite cards,
20:30
SPEAKER_01: I tell everybody,
20:31
SPEAKER_01: it's Pro Box TV,
20:32
SPEAKER_01: it's 360 Promotions,
20:35
SPEAKER_01: Hollywood Fight Nights,
20:36
SPEAKER_01: it's Salita's Big Time Boxing USA,
20:39
SPEAKER_01: and OTX Boxing.
20:41
SPEAKER_01: I think that those are the most week-in, week-out entertaining fights.
20:45
It's just the fans don't always want to watch fights where they
20:48
don't necessarily
20:49
SPEAKER_01: know like an Omar Trinidad or an Ardriel Holmes,
20:52
SPEAKER_01: but the action for action,
20:54
SPEAKER_01: I find myself more excited watching those cards.
20:57
SPEAKER_00: You know, as...
21:00
SPEAKER_00: You know,
21:01
SPEAKER_00: I'm in my late 40s and I'm 47 years old,
21:03
SPEAKER_00: you know,
21:03
so I was around in the days of the ESPN Friday night fights and
21:07
the USA boxing,
21:08
SPEAKER_00: the Tuesday night USA boxing.
21:11
SPEAKER_00: And to me,
21:12
SPEAKER_00: this is comparable to those type of fights,
21:14
SPEAKER_00: you know,
21:14
SPEAKER_00: watching the Solita cards,
21:15
SPEAKER_00: watching the pro box cards,
21:17
SPEAKER_00: watching,
21:17
SPEAKER_00: you know,
21:18
SPEAKER_00: Tom Loeffler do what he does with Hollywood fight nights.
21:22
SPEAKER_00: And people want to say, oh, those fights were better.
21:24
SPEAKER_00: No, they weren't better.
21:26
SPEAKER_00: You know,
21:28
we're practically seeing a mirror imaging of the fights in the
21:32
late 80s and the
21:33
SPEAKER_00: early 90s with these types of promotion companies.
21:36
SPEAKER_00: You know, people want, oh, I miss Friday night fights.
21:38
SPEAKER_00: I miss, you know, USA boxing, you know, Tuesday night fights.
21:42
SPEAKER_00: Well, these are the same type of fights.
21:44
You know,
21:44
I mean,
21:45
honestly,
21:45
the biggest name to me,
21:46
I think that fought...
21:48
SPEAKER_00: and was a staple on USA Boxing was Glenn Coffey Johnson, you know.
21:53
And if you look at what these companies are doing,
21:58
they're making champions.
21:59
SPEAKER_00: You look at somebody like Sergey Boyechuk,
22:02
SPEAKER_00: right,
22:03
SPEAKER_00: who just,
22:05
SPEAKER_00: you know,
22:07
SPEAKER_00: he annihilated Ishmael Davis.
22:09
SPEAKER_00: you know, Davies in his last fight.
22:11
SPEAKER_00: You know, he gave Virgil Ortiz everything he can handle.
22:15
You know,
22:15
you got people like Cain Sandoval,
22:17
you know,
22:17
that's going to be fighting in February.
22:20
And you have these fighters that are so talented and they're
22:26
being showcased and
22:27
SPEAKER_00: people just need to go out there and show them some love.
22:31
SPEAKER_01: Now let's get to the Andy Cruz fight.
22:33
SPEAKER_01: Andy Cruz taking on Omar Salcedo.
22:37
SPEAKER_01: Andy Cruz to me is one of the most sensational fighters in boxing.
22:41
SPEAKER_01: I get it.
22:41
SPEAKER_01: People like to crap on Cuban boxers because they've been boring a lot.
22:46
SPEAKER_01: I don't really see what you can criticize about Andy Cruz.
22:49
SPEAKER_01: He's sitting on his punches.
22:50
SPEAKER_01: He's a great boxer.
22:52
SPEAKER_01: And people are like,
22:53
SPEAKER_01: oh,
22:53
SPEAKER_01: man,
22:53
SPEAKER_01: he doesn't like pressure,
22:54
SPEAKER_01: yet he's stopping really high-level guys in three or four fights.
22:58
SPEAKER_01: To me, I don't really see what there is to criticize.
23:01
SPEAKER_01: He's about as pro-ready as I've ever seen a fighter.
23:06
And I thought he was going to be a bad pro,
23:08
and he's just been phenomenal.
23:10
SPEAKER_00: I love Andy Cruz.
23:12
SPEAKER_00: To me, he's in my top five lightweights right now.
23:15
SPEAKER_00: At 4-0.
23:17
SPEAKER_00: I don't care what people say.
23:18
SPEAKER_00: I don't care what people talk about.
23:20
SPEAKER_00: The Cuban style of this or that.
23:22
SPEAKER_00: He's entertaining.
23:25
SPEAKER_00: He's doing what he has to.
23:26
And he's going to be going up against a very,
23:29
very tough competitor in Omar Salcido.
23:32
SPEAKER_00: Somebody that has a recent knockout win over Antonio Moran.
23:38
SPEAKER_00: And this is going to be...
23:43
SPEAKER_00: another type of fight that people need to pay attention to.
23:46
SPEAKER_00: You know,
23:47
SPEAKER_00: people want to talk about,
23:49
SPEAKER_00: you know,
23:50
Tank Davis and they want to talk about Gabriel Murataya and
23:54
they want to talk about
23:55
SPEAKER_00: Shakur Stevenson at 35.
23:56
SPEAKER_00: And the name that I don't hear in all those conversations is Andy Cruz.
24:01
SPEAKER_00: And Andy Cruz to me is one of the top,
24:04
SPEAKER_00: if not the top,
24:05
SPEAKER_00: you know,
24:06
SPEAKER_00: in that top realm of lightweights right now.
24:13
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I agree.
24:14
SPEAKER_01: I think this is going to be a sensational fight.
24:16
One other fight that's happening this weekend that I think is
24:18
worth noting is your
24:20
SPEAKER_01: guy Ernesto Tito Mercado is taking on Jose Pedraza.
24:24
SPEAKER_01: It's his matchroom debut.
24:26
SPEAKER_01: What can we expect from Tito?
24:28
SPEAKER_00: Tito is going to apply pressure.
24:30
SPEAKER_00: It's you know, he's been waiting to fight yet.
24:34
SPEAKER_00: A couple of guys missed weight on him.
24:35
You know,
24:36
he's been waiting to make this debut for Eddie Hearn and for Matchroom.
24:40
SPEAKER_00: Pedraza's coming off of four losses in a row.
24:44
And I think that with the mentality that Tito has,
24:48
he's not going to try to sit there and box.
24:51
SPEAKER_00: Once he feels Pedraza's power and knows that Pedraza can't hurt him,
24:55
SPEAKER_00: he's going to go in for a kill.
24:56
SPEAKER_00: You know, and he's going to try to, you know, use this as...
25:00
SPEAKER_00: hey, I did something that Arnold Barbosa couldn't do.
25:04
SPEAKER_00: I did something that, you know, a lot of fighters couldn't do.
25:07
SPEAKER_00: I went in there and I knocked out Jose Pedraza.
25:09
SPEAKER_00: You know, I went in there and got that stoppage.
25:12
SPEAKER_00: And, you know, I deserve to be at the top of 140, you know.
25:17
SPEAKER_00: So that's what I expected of that fight.
25:19
SPEAKER_00: Honestly, I could see Tito stopping Pedraza
25:27
SPEAKER_00: you know, in the fifth or sixth round of this fight.
25:29
SPEAKER_00: And just because of the fact that Pedraza's not the same Pedraza,
25:33
SPEAKER_00: not the same sniper that we've known for these past four years,
25:37
SPEAKER_00: you know,
25:37
SPEAKER_00: coming off of four losses,
25:39
SPEAKER_00: he's the name right now.
25:41
SPEAKER_00: And that's what, that's all he is for Tito is a name.
25:44
You know,
25:44
he's not,
25:45
he's not a very viable opponent in this part of his career.
25:51
SPEAKER_00: And he's kind of, he's a gatekeeper.
25:55
SPEAKER_00: He's a gatekeeper.
25:58
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, how close is Tito to a big fight?
26:02
SPEAKER_00: You know,
26:03
SPEAKER_00: honestly,
26:03
SPEAKER_00: with Eddie Hearn,
26:05
SPEAKER_00: I could see Eddie trying to set something up at 140 very soon.
26:13
SPEAKER_00: I could see him.
26:13
SPEAKER_00: I know there was talks about Regis progress getting back into the ring,
26:19
SPEAKER_00: but I could see Tito against somebody like a Regis soon.
26:23
SPEAKER_00: I'd probably say about a year.
26:25
SPEAKER_00: To answer your question,
26:26
SPEAKER_00: probably about a year out,
26:28
SPEAKER_00: if not by the end of 2025,
26:29
SPEAKER_00: with not just a name,
26:34
but somebody that's going to be an opponent that's going to
26:36
actually give him a fight.
26:39
SPEAKER_01: Well, one big thing for me that I've been debating with is
26:46
SPEAKER_01: Prospect doesn't really have a meaning anymore to me,
26:49
SPEAKER_01: like besides the fact that it's like an up and comer,
26:52
SPEAKER_01: someone that could win a title,
26:53
SPEAKER_01: et cetera.
26:54
There's no like clear defined barrier of what a prospect is
26:59
because like you could
27:01
SPEAKER_01: say Diego Pacheco is a prospect.
27:03
SPEAKER_01: But at the same time, you could say Abdullah Mason's a prospect.
27:06
SPEAKER_01: At the same time, you could say Tio Mercado's a prospect.
27:09
SPEAKER_01: At the same time, you could say Andy Cruz's a prospect.
27:11
And then you could say a five-fight fighter like Gale Cabrera
27:15
on Golden Boy is.
27:17
SPEAKER_01: But they're all in different stages of their career.
27:19
And I think that's what's so hard about the word prospect is
27:23
it's gotten very watered down.
27:25
And I think part of that is because guys like Boots Ennis had
27:28
four years of
27:29
SPEAKER_01: basically being prospect of the year.
27:31
SPEAKER_01: They don't advance their careers.
27:33
SPEAKER_00: No, they don't.
27:35
SPEAKER_00: And I think another thing you have to look at,
27:37
SPEAKER_00: too,
27:37
SPEAKER_00: is you have to look at the background of a lot of these fighters.
27:41
SPEAKER_00: Some of these fighters have 100, 150 amateur fights.
27:46
SPEAKER_00: Some of them have five amateur fights.
27:49
SPEAKER_00: And they're prospects that are learning on that professional level,
27:53
SPEAKER_00: you know,
27:53
SPEAKER_00: where they are going to take time,
27:55
SPEAKER_00: you know,
27:56
SPEAKER_00: to rise up through the system.
27:58
Like somebody like Tito,
28:00
like Omar Trinidad,
28:00
excuse me,
28:01
Omar Trinidad,
28:02
for instance,
28:02
right?
28:03
SPEAKER_00: not very much of an amateur career,
28:05
but is making his name by rising through the rankings the way a
28:13
prospect should.
28:14
SPEAKER_00: You know,
28:14
SPEAKER_00: he's taking tough fights,
28:16
SPEAKER_00: but fights that he should win and fights that he should be learning from,
28:19
SPEAKER_00: which he's doing,
28:21
SPEAKER_00: you know.
28:22
SPEAKER_00: So,
28:22
SPEAKER_00: like you said,
28:24
SPEAKER_00: it's watered down,
28:26
SPEAKER_00: you know,
28:26
SPEAKER_00: because then you get somebody like Andy Cruz who has –
28:30
SPEAKER_00: A million amateur fights.
28:32
SPEAKER_00: He's got four professional fights and he can be.
28:36
SPEAKER_00: Some some people might not even say he's a prospect.
28:38
Some people might say,
28:39
you know,
28:40
he's world championship level ready to go.
28:43
SPEAKER_01: That's what I think is confusing, right?
28:45
Because to me,
28:46
Tito,
28:47
independently,
28:47
I'd probably one of the most amazing years in 2023.
28:51
SPEAKER_01: This year it was all right, but it wasn't as like exhilarating.
28:55
So you would think that he's on that brink of being a contender
29:00
this year and he
29:01
SPEAKER_01: talks a good game.
29:02
SPEAKER_01: So I'd like to see him kind of make that jump.
29:06
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, definitely.
29:07
SPEAKER_00: He definitely needs to be on that next level.
29:11
SPEAKER_00: Fighting guys like Hank Lundy do nothing for these fighters.
29:16
SPEAKER_00: Fighting these type of fights which pad records do nothing for a fighter.
29:25
I think we've talked about it in the past because you have
29:30
these fighters that end
29:31
SPEAKER_00: up 14-0,
29:32
SPEAKER_00: 15-0 and don't really have a name
29:37
SPEAKER_00: on their, on their resume.
29:38
SPEAKER_00: And then you hear that word that,
29:42
SPEAKER_00: that I hate,
29:43
SPEAKER_00: but you hear it,
29:44
SPEAKER_00: they get exposed,
29:45
SPEAKER_00: you know,
29:46
SPEAKER_00: and they get beat and they look silly and people,
29:50
SPEAKER_00: well,
29:50
SPEAKER_00: see,
29:51
SPEAKER_00: I told you,
29:51
SPEAKER_00: he never fought nobody.
29:53
And all he's fighting is tomato cans and blah,
29:55
blah,
29:55
blah,
29:56
blah,
29:56
blah,
29:56
blah.
29:56
SPEAKER_00: You know, the way the internet is.
29:58
SPEAKER_00: And, uh,
30:00
SPEAKER_00: You know, that you have to fight.
30:02
You have to continue to learn whether you're fighting somebody
30:04
that's six foot
30:05
SPEAKER_00: three or you're fighting somebody that's five foot three.
30:08
SPEAKER_00: Whether you're fighting an orthodox fighter,
30:09
SPEAKER_00: whether you're fighting a southpaw fighter,
30:11
you have to use each fight as a measuring stick and it has to
30:14
test you in some sort
30:15
SPEAKER_00: of way.
30:16
SPEAKER_00: It just can't be a showcase.
30:19
SPEAKER_00: I'm the boogeyman.
30:20
I'm going to go out there and knock out somebody from TJ,
30:23
you know,
30:24
type of fight.
30:27
SPEAKER_01: I'm with you.
30:28
SPEAKER_01: The only other thing we're going to preview is Dalton Smith is returning.
30:31
SPEAKER_01: A lot of people in the UK really believe in Dalton Smith.
30:34
SPEAKER_01: He's a guy that's just stop, start, no momentum currently, in my opinion.
30:40
SPEAKER_00: Yeah,
30:40
SPEAKER_00: you know,
30:42
SPEAKER_00: I've watched a few of his fights,
30:44
SPEAKER_00: you know,
30:47
SPEAKER_00: back in the UK,
30:47
SPEAKER_00: and I really can't speak on his career because it really,
30:52
SPEAKER_00: like you said,
30:52
SPEAKER_00: it's a start-stop.
30:53
SPEAKER_00: It really hasn't done anything to that level that's going to
30:58
that's going to ring a bell that says,
30:59
Hey,
30:59
you need to pay attention to this kid.
31:02
SPEAKER_00: Cause he's going to be a world champion because he's going to,
31:04
SPEAKER_00: because he's going to do something,
31:06
SPEAKER_00: you know,
31:06
SPEAKER_00: it's too,
31:07
SPEAKER_00: it's too few and far between,
31:13
SPEAKER_00: you know,
31:13
SPEAKER_00: and,
31:13
SPEAKER_00: and his fights and,
31:15
SPEAKER_00: and what he's doing over there,
31:17
SPEAKER_00: you know,
31:18
SPEAKER_00: whether it's fighting for a,
31:19
SPEAKER_00: a,
31:21
bbfc championship regional championship or whether it's
31:26
fighting for a wbc regional
31:28
title or whatever the case may be it's just not it's not active
31:32
enough and he's not
31:33
he's not fighting the names that bring attention to him that
31:38
showcase him okay well
31:41
that is our newsletter chat so if you enjoy it well you're in
31:45
the right place
31:47
SPEAKER_01: stacks what can people do to support you
31:51
SPEAKER_00: Go ahead and follow the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame.
31:55
We're going to be announcing very soon the 2025 class for the
32:00
Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame.
32:02
And I'm thinking we're going to be doing the release sometime
32:05
in February.
32:06
SPEAKER_00: I'm in talks with Rich Murata,
32:08
SPEAKER_00: the founder of the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame,
32:13
SPEAKER_00: as well as Michelle Corrales-Lewis.
32:15
SPEAKER_00: who is the president and CEO of the Hall of Fame.
32:19
SPEAKER_00: You can also follow us on Supreme Boxing.
32:22
You can follow me on Supreme Boxing on all social media
32:25
platforms for all your latest updates.
32:27
SPEAKER_00: If you're in Vegas,
32:29
the week of the 25th or the week of February 1st for the Diego
32:34
Pacheco fight or for
32:35
SPEAKER_00: the David Morales.
32:38
SPEAKER_00: I mean, excuse me, the Benavides Morales fight.
32:41
SPEAKER_00: Morale.
32:41
SPEAKER_00: Jesus, I'm tongue twisted today.
32:43
SPEAKER_00: The David Morale, David Benavides fight.
32:46
SPEAKER_00: I will be in Vegas for both of those fights.
32:48
SPEAKER_00: Excuse me again for misspeaking, but I'll be out there.
32:52
SPEAKER_00: So if you're out in Vegas, man, stop by, say hi.
32:55
SPEAKER_00: I'll be out there both weekends and glad to be on again.
32:59
SPEAKER_00: Thanks, Lukey.
33:00
SPEAKER_01: Yep, we got you.