Latest / Big Dog Lukie Boxing Podcast / Once-A-Week Podcast: Sergio Mendoza’s Glory or Ricado Sandoval’s Mistake?

Transcript

Once-A-Week Podcast: Sergio Mendoza’s Glory or Ricado Sandoval’s Mistake? · Big Dog Lukie Boxing Podcast

0:01
SPEAKER_01: Welcome to the Once a Week Podcast brought to you by you.
0:06
SPEAKER_01: This week, jam-packed show.
0:09
SPEAKER_01: I actually had a technical issue,
0:11
SPEAKER_01: so I hope that the enthusiasm level is still the same because I recorded an hour and
0:16
SPEAKER_01: a half podcast and it is high quality video
0:19
SPEAKER_01: and there is absolutely no audio whatsoever.
0:22
SPEAKER_01: I think I figured out the problem.
0:24
SPEAKER_01: I have to use a certain web browser in Substack.
0:28
SPEAKER_01: To use it, but not as interesting to anyone listening.
0:33
SPEAKER_01: But if my enthusiasm or passion is not the same as you might have hoped, then...
0:42
SPEAKER_01: That could be the reason why.
0:43
SPEAKER_01: I've gone through and kind of reorganized the show that I usually do.
0:48
SPEAKER_01: And we have a guest to break up my lead segment into the second half of the show.
0:53
SPEAKER_01: So it should be an exciting once a week podcast.
0:55
SPEAKER_01: But let's start with the opening segment, which is the fairy tale story of Sergio Mendoza.
1:02
SPEAKER_01: Mendoza this weekend came in as a three week late sub for Oscar Collazo.
1:10
SPEAKER_01: And Collazo,
1:11
SPEAKER_01: obviously,
1:13
SPEAKER_01: as it was brought up by many people,
1:15
SPEAKER_01: I discounted Sergio Mendoza based on his loss to Sem Sari,
1:22
SPEAKER_01: a second-round knockout in the light flyweight division.
1:25
SPEAKER_01: Yes, he's a southpaw.
1:27
SPEAKER_01: He's 5'8",
1:28
SPEAKER_01: and he was a completely different build than what Ricardo Sandoval was preparing
1:36
SPEAKER_01: for, right?
1:37
SPEAKER_01: Oscar Collazo...
1:40
SPEAKER_01: And let's get into that, right?
1:41
SPEAKER_01: Because I'm struggling with words because I feel like I'm up against the clock
1:45
SPEAKER_01: to record this opening segment because then I have to jump into a meeting and
1:48
SPEAKER_01: then I'm going to come back.
1:50
SPEAKER_01: So I got a lot of criticism from many different listeners that I focus so much
1:55
SPEAKER_01: on Collazo and not on Ricardo Sandoval or Sergio Mendoza.
2:01
SPEAKER_01: And for me, that could be the construct of how I see the world and the way I look at boxing.
2:07
SPEAKER_01: I view it as a narrative story.
2:10
SPEAKER_01: Colazo pulls out of the fight three weeks ago.
2:13
SPEAKER_01: Mendoza steps in.
2:15
SPEAKER_01: It felt as though Mendoza was being brought in from maybe some of
2:19
SPEAKER_01: the internal conversations I had had with insiders.
2:22
SPEAKER_01: He was perceived as a favorable matchup.
2:25
SPEAKER_01: I believe...
2:27
SPEAKER_01: And this shows my naivete, but I believe that Colazo was a Southpaw.
2:32
SPEAKER_01: And one of the defining characteristics of Sergio Mendoza was that he was a Southpaw
2:38
SPEAKER_01: and they had been prepping for a Southpaw.
2:40
SPEAKER_01: But obviously, as I brought up, there was a big difference in size, right?
2:45
SPEAKER_01: There's a huge reach difference, 61 inches to 63, 5'2 to 5'8, things like that.
2:51
SPEAKER_01: And also Mendoza's coming off a brutal stoppage loss,
2:54
SPEAKER_01: whereas, you know, Other guys might have been coming in undefeated, etc.
2:59
SPEAKER_01: I think the perception also is to kind of throw Sandoval under the bus, too.
3:07
SPEAKER_01: And I'm pretty fond of Sandoval.
3:09
SPEAKER_01: I just did the cold jitters.
3:11
SPEAKER_01: But I mean, I was standing like 10 feet away and watched him beat Jay Harris.
3:17
SPEAKER_01: And he came in on the B-side and went to the UK to do that.
3:21
SPEAKER_01: He also, in 2018, beat Oscar Vasquez in Reno, Nevada, almost called California.
3:27
SPEAKER_01: And Vasquez was a good ticket seller up there.
3:30
SPEAKER_01: And before that,
3:31
SPEAKER_01: he beat Brent Venegas III,
3:32
SPEAKER_01: who was a really,
3:33
SPEAKER_01: really solid prospect,
3:34
SPEAKER_01: fought on a lot of top-ranked shows in And new Gabe Flores,
3:38
SPEAKER_01: really, really well trained with that team.
3:40
SPEAKER_01: He had three legitimate B-side wins.
3:43
SPEAKER_01: And I think the thing about Sandoval that I saw as an overarching theme,
3:47
SPEAKER_01: and I'll go through these kind of quickly in this opening monologue,
3:51
SPEAKER_01: which I'm going to label big win or big mistake, right?
3:55
SPEAKER_01: Is Sandoval has had a career where he has overachieved when he shouldn't win.
4:03
SPEAKER_01: And he's underachieved in fights where you would expect him to do more.
4:08
SPEAKER_01: And that's been a consistent trait.
4:10
SPEAKER_01: Now, I think David Jimenez,
4:12
SPEAKER_01: who beat him, is a much better fighter than people give him credit for.
4:15
SPEAKER_01: I think Victor Sandoval is a better fighter than people give him credit for.
4:18
SPEAKER_01: But I also feel as though Ricardo Sandoval does not get the same credit for some
4:23
SPEAKER_01: of those early B-side wins.
4:25
SPEAKER_01: And because I think Sandoval is closer to a club fighter than he is...
4:30
SPEAKER_01: To a world champion,
4:31
SPEAKER_01: even though he's held a world title,
4:33
SPEAKER_01: he's an overachiever who won hard fights and was willing to take hard fights,
4:40
SPEAKER_01: but then sometimes on the world class level lacked that consistency.
4:43
SPEAKER_01: And I think some of that stems from he's all offense or he goes on the back foot
4:48
SPEAKER_01: and tries to outpoint you.
4:50
SPEAKER_01: And...
4:51
SPEAKER_01: You don't see the fluidity and styles moving between two different things.
4:57
SPEAKER_01: And I think that caught up to him in this fight.
4:59
SPEAKER_01: A couple of questions people asked me.
5:02
SPEAKER_01: First off, they felt that the fact that I didn't even mention Mendoza was awful.
5:07
SPEAKER_01: But all fight week, he kind of gave like just happy to be there answers.
5:12
SPEAKER_01: Didn't get the impression that this was going to be like...
5:16
SPEAKER_01: And a kind of an interesting fight to be perfectly honest.
5:19
SPEAKER_01: And then it almost looked like it was started off the worst way for him.
5:22
SPEAKER_01: And then he kind of threw,
5:23
SPEAKER_01: get off of me punches, lands to Sandoval's belly and completely changes the fight.
5:31
SPEAKER_01: And that's my perception of the fight.
5:33
SPEAKER_01: Now let's get into some of these questions people had talking about Sandoval's power.
5:38
SPEAKER_01: Basically there, there, a lot of people point out that he's been knocked down.
5:42
SPEAKER_01: And the first time he was knocked down goes back to that Brent Venegas.
5:45
SPEAKER_01: Knockdown, but let's go deeper into this.
5:47
SPEAKER_01: Let's go to the numbers.
5:48
SPEAKER_01: Let's be a more interesting boxing show and look through
5:53
SPEAKER_01: where Sandoval has been knocked down because I think that
5:57
SPEAKER_01: the Sandoval fight was also Brent's last pro fight.
5:59
SPEAKER_01: It was so that we're coming up on God, that would be nine years ago since Brent retired wild.
6:08
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
6:09
SPEAKER_01: So his first knockdown was in the Brent Venegas fight.
6:11
SPEAKER_01: I thought Brent beat him.
6:14
SPEAKER_01: He loses to Jimenez.
6:16
SPEAKER_01: Jimenez is arguably the best guy or one of the best guys at or around the weight class.
6:22
SPEAKER_01: Just for whatever reason, the politics of boxing have said that he's not the guy.
6:29
SPEAKER_01: He has one loss.
6:30
SPEAKER_01: Jimenez's one loss is to Artem Dallacanian.
6:35
SPEAKER_01: That was in 2023.
6:37
SPEAKER_01: And that guy was a really, really awkward and weird fighter.
6:40
SPEAKER_01: Beyond that, you know, you're looking at a really top-tier operator.
6:45
SPEAKER_01: Then you look... Well,
6:47
SPEAKER_01: I guess one of the big contentions with Sandoval is that... And he gets... Is...
6:57
SPEAKER_01: This Salito Hernandez, who came in at 108 pounds, obviously a smaller guy.
7:02
SPEAKER_01: He's five feet tall.
7:06
SPEAKER_01: Looking at that fight, it's a fighter from Indianapolis.
7:09
SPEAKER_01: I think that his name is Chinchek.
7:11
SPEAKER_01: But Chinchek, Henderson, Mr.
7:15
SPEAKER_01: Personal.
7:18
SPEAKER_01: No, Chinchek is his company.
7:19
SPEAKER_01: His nickname is Mr.
7:20
SPEAKER_01: Personal.
7:21
SPEAKER_01: He's only been stopped once, and that was the fight after Sandoval.
7:26
SPEAKER_01: I think looking and then it says accepts fights at 108 to 115 pounds.
7:32
SPEAKER_01: Henderson's a tough dude in the sense that he's a true personification of a fighter.
7:37
SPEAKER_01: And I get what someone might say.
7:39
SPEAKER_01: OK, well, why didn't he stop him or this or that?
7:42
SPEAKER_01: Ricardo Sandoval isn't per se a power puncher.
7:45
SPEAKER_01: Ricardo Sandoval might have a record of a puncher,
7:48
SPEAKER_01: but a lot of what he does is he overwhelms you with volume.
7:52
SPEAKER_01: He pushes a pace and he's someone that has a real high work ethic and goes through it.
7:59
SPEAKER_01: That strategy caught up with him with Mendoza.
8:02
SPEAKER_01: And yes,
8:04
SPEAKER_01: when Scott Christ of Bad Left Hook brought this up,
8:07
SPEAKER_01: I was pretty nervous because it's like he's a pretty sharp boxing eye and him
8:12
SPEAKER_01: and John Hansen have really, really great perspectives around boxing, I think.
8:16
SPEAKER_01: And I love their podcast when they used to do it.
8:19
SPEAKER_01: And Mendoza...
8:21
SPEAKER_01: Really loaded up on big shots in that second round.
8:24
SPEAKER_01: And I think Sandoval too has a style that's very physical.
8:28
SPEAKER_01: He's 27 years old.
8:30
SPEAKER_01: What's the old adage in boxing?
8:32
SPEAKER_01: The lower weights get older quick, right?
8:35
SPEAKER_01: So he's getting older as he's moving along in the weight classes.
8:41
SPEAKER_01: Gets hurt.
8:42
SPEAKER_01: Looked like he was going to rally the storm and then weather the storm and then in
8:46
SPEAKER_01: the fifth round gets stopped.
8:49
SPEAKER_01: Championship reign over Cinderella, Mendoza wins.
8:52
SPEAKER_01: I think for me,
8:53
SPEAKER_01: part of the issue is I don't look at Mendoza against Yabuki,
8:58
SPEAKER_01: against Anthony Olegaska, who I think could possibly be a Hall of Fame level boxer.
9:03
SPEAKER_01: And then you have Mendoza who holds two of the titles and then arguably Jimenez
9:07
SPEAKER_01: if he enters the picture, right?
9:10
SPEAKER_01: I don't really see him as competitive with those guys.
9:14
SPEAKER_01: And there could be like an issue where maybe I'm wrong, right?
9:20
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes I'm wrong, but I don't quite see him at that level.
9:22
SPEAKER_01: I think this was one of those moments where it was the perfect storm.
9:27
SPEAKER_01: Sandoval was coming in against Oscar Colazzo,
9:30
SPEAKER_01: who has kind of been rushed to the pound for pound list.
9:33
SPEAKER_01: And he's become a notable name.
9:36
SPEAKER_01: And he got signed by Golden Boy Promotions, I want to say in 2023, and is really ramped up.
9:41
SPEAKER_01: And he was doing that great lower weight thing where guys like Chocolatito
9:46
SPEAKER_01: and Inouye maybe skip a weight class and they're going to the higher weights
9:49
SPEAKER_01: to make their run for legacy.
9:52
SPEAKER_01: And some people have questioned Colazo's legacy based around,
9:56
SPEAKER_01: okay, why aren't unifications happening at 105 pounds?
9:59
SPEAKER_01: There's some guys there.
10:00
SPEAKER_01: Why aren't these happening so easily?
10:02
SPEAKER_01: So, Sandoval, I think, was licking his lips at...
10:07
SPEAKER_01: I was favoring Sandoval for that fight.
10:09
SPEAKER_01: He was jumping up to a naturally bigger guy.
10:12
SPEAKER_01: Whether you know it or not,
10:14
SPEAKER_01: you're going to be let down a little bit by not having that level of fight because
10:17
SPEAKER_01: that was such an interesting, compelling fight.
10:20
SPEAKER_01: There's going to be a little bit of a letdown.
10:22
SPEAKER_01: And I think a lot of people looked at Mendoza the way I was looking at Mendoza.
10:26
SPEAKER_01: He's coming off the worst performance of his career.
10:29
SPEAKER_01: Yes, he's big.
10:30
SPEAKER_01: Yes, he's strong.
10:31
SPEAKER_01: And he has attributes, but he's coming off of being a 108 pounder.
10:36
SPEAKER_01: A kind of humiliating loss and now moving up to 112 pounds.
10:40
SPEAKER_01: And he did the John Pullman thing where he made the decision on that night.
10:45
SPEAKER_01: He wasn't getting knocked out and he wasn't going away.
10:48
SPEAKER_01: And Sandoval, every fight is a hard fight.
10:52
SPEAKER_01: So he's been in...
10:54
SPEAKER_01: What is it?
10:54
SPEAKER_01: 30 fights.
10:56
SPEAKER_01: He's gone 172 rounds.
10:59
SPEAKER_01: He's 27 years old.
11:00
SPEAKER_01: I'm giving you the facts,
11:01
SPEAKER_01: but maybe he's starting to get old too because there's no easy fights for him.
11:06
SPEAKER_01: And I see frustrations in some of the comments about the Angel Acosta fight was stopped quickly.
11:13
SPEAKER_01: Um, don't really remember that one.
11:15
SPEAKER_01: I know the Hernandez fight people are saying, um, he's too small.
11:20
SPEAKER_01: He should have stopped him, but you know, it's hard to stop guys that don't want to be stopped.
11:24
SPEAKER_01: And sometimes guys that don't look imposing can be tougher than you think.
11:29
SPEAKER_01: They can present challenges that you don't expect.
11:31
SPEAKER_01: So don't just judge a book by a cover there.
11:34
SPEAKER_01: I think that the Kenshiro fight,
11:36
SPEAKER_01: I saw that result coming because I think Kenshiro
11:39
SPEAKER_01: and Sandoval are very similar fighters, except Kenshiro has taken more damage.
11:44
SPEAKER_01: Kenshiro has taken a lot of punishment.
11:47
SPEAKER_01: I thought Sandoval was going to win that fight,
11:49
SPEAKER_01: but what tends to happen spiritually when a guy wins a fight and then he has
11:53
SPEAKER_01: the long layoff,
11:54
SPEAKER_01: and we're going to get into the long layoff after that,
11:57
SPEAKER_01: is when guys have long layoffs.
11:59
SPEAKER_01: Typically,
12:00
SPEAKER_01: you don't have a great performance,
12:01
SPEAKER_01: and then you add with it
12:03
SPEAKER_01: a guy who's probably not been rated accurately throughout his career.
12:07
SPEAKER_01: I'd say Sandoval's either overrated or underrated his whole career.
12:10
SPEAKER_01: There's never been an accurate rating of him, which is strange for a humble...
12:15
SPEAKER_01: Flyweight champion to kind of fall into that category,
12:18
SPEAKER_01: but it's probably, I think it's fairly accurate to say that.
12:21
SPEAKER_01: So you get Kenshiro, gets this win for every reason he can't come back.
12:26
SPEAKER_01: And then honestly, body,
12:28
SPEAKER_01: Lucas body in the main event,
12:30
SPEAKER_01: Blake Schofield and Sandoval all coming off long layoffs,
12:34
SPEAKER_01: all get buzzed within the first couple of rounds.
12:37
SPEAKER_01: I don't think that's an accident.
12:38
SPEAKER_01: That just seems like something that's like a pattern right there.
12:45
SPEAKER_01: And then we also have to kind of bring up the fact that this is the biggest stage...
12:54
SPEAKER_01: That Sandoval had been on per se.
12:56
SPEAKER_01: Not necessarily like the positioning on the card, but this is first world title defense.
13:03
SPEAKER_01: And there's more responsibility that comes with that.
13:06
SPEAKER_01: I get that people are pointing to the knockdowns in his career.
13:10
SPEAKER_01: Brett knocked him down.
13:11
SPEAKER_01: Kenshiro knocked him down.
13:13
SPEAKER_01: Now Mendoza knocked him down.
13:15
SPEAKER_01: He has issues...
13:17
SPEAKER_01: He has issues avoiding big power at the highest level.
13:21
SPEAKER_01: All of those guys were world champion tier fighters.
13:24
SPEAKER_01: Brent just retired before he could get to the world championship tier.
13:29
SPEAKER_01: Ricardo Sandoval is a pressure fighter or he's a boxer.
13:33
SPEAKER_01: He never combines the two styles.
13:36
SPEAKER_01: And I think that this is a lesson in a lot of things, right?
13:40
SPEAKER_01: You should never underestimate an opponent from a reporter's standpoint because
13:44
SPEAKER_01: for those that I'm trying to serve and give great content for...
13:48
SPEAKER_01: You missed out on maybe some analysis that I could talk myself through.
13:52
SPEAKER_01: I didn't accurately get this.
13:53
SPEAKER_01: But to me on paper,
13:55
SPEAKER_01: this went from an interesting fight to define Colazo's career into kind of
14:02
SPEAKER_01: a stay busy fight.
14:03
SPEAKER_01: Maybe on paper Mendoza was the perfect opponent for Sandoval.
14:25
SPEAKER_01: But that doesn't mean that Sandoval didn't get caught with a shot and
14:30
SPEAKER_01: that Mendoza wrote his future and became a player in the division.
14:34
SPEAKER_01: Moments like this actually endear me to the sport rather than tear me apart
14:38
SPEAKER_01: from what's going on.
14:42
SPEAKER_01: I saw some people questioning the preparation and all that stuff for Sandoval.
14:47
SPEAKER_01: I just think it's a weird fight in the sense where you can be the expert the moment
14:54
SPEAKER_01: the fight is over.
14:56
SPEAKER_01: But when the fight was occurring or in the buildup,
14:58
SPEAKER_01: you didn't hear many other people besides Scott Christ
15:02
SPEAKER_01: of bad left hook saying this could be a weird fight.
15:05
SPEAKER_01: So rather than tearing down Sandoval,
15:07
SPEAKER_01: I'm going to do what I didn't do in the buildup and give Mendoza pray.
15:11
SPEAKER_01: I thought Mendoza was simply just happy to be there,
15:15
SPEAKER_01: but he proved that he is a real world champion.
15:18
SPEAKER_01: But there is a bizarre point to this too.
15:20
SPEAKER_01: I get that he's a late replacement,
15:22
SPEAKER_01: but we need to also stop normalizing guys coming in off of losses into these things.
15:28
SPEAKER_01: And I think that that's kind of why he was overlooked is he got stopped in
15:32
SPEAKER_01: a big title fight in his fight before in a lower weight class and took the fight
15:37
SPEAKER_01: on short notice.
15:39
SPEAKER_01: It is what it is,
15:40
SPEAKER_01: but I think the talking point is the Cinderella-like moment of Mendoza,
15:45
SPEAKER_01: but then Mendoza is someone that we don't know the story of,
15:49
SPEAKER_01: and for an American podcast,
15:52
SPEAKER_01: an English-language podcast, obviously I don't have the same knowledge.
15:59
SPEAKER_01: Of Mendoza, as other people do, or other people that have followed his story.
16:04
SPEAKER_01: So you're going to be drawn to the fighters
16:07
SPEAKER_01: that probably American promoters have put in front of my eyeballs as well,
16:11
SPEAKER_01: which is some of the bias I think we get.
16:14
SPEAKER_01: I'm going to get into another question about kind of American bias later in the show.
16:18
SPEAKER_01: But let's move on from this.
16:20
SPEAKER_01: And I'm going to play my interview with Marco Romero, a promising up-and-comer.
16:25
SPEAKER_01: 15-0, 13 knockouts.
16:27
SPEAKER_01: He's a middleweight.
16:27
SPEAKER_01: He fights.
16:29
SPEAKER_01: This Saturday, he opens the DAZN and TNT Sports The Fight telecast.
16:34
SPEAKER_01: Let's go to Marco Romero and get an idea of what he is about.
16:39
SPEAKER_01: And I'm going to have a story coming out,
16:41
SPEAKER_01: I believe, on Saturday, maybe sooner on The Good Fight.
16:49
SPEAKER_01: My story is about basically fighters like you used to get tons of attention.
16:55
SPEAKER_01: And in this modern era,
16:57
SPEAKER_01: you've built up this great record,
16:58
SPEAKER_01: but it feels like you've flown under the radar
17:01
SPEAKER_01: because you haven't really gotten those big promoter opportunities until this fight.
17:05
SPEAKER_01: I'm curious to get your perspective on that.
17:09
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think we have definitely flown under the radar, but I think it's...
17:15
SPEAKER_00: I think it's just that's been my that's been all my career since the amateurs.
17:19
SPEAKER_00: You know, I've won, you know, I think you see my resume.
17:23
SPEAKER_00: I won many national championships,
17:27
SPEAKER_00: was ranked number one in the United States for many, many years in the amateurs.
17:31
SPEAKER_00: You know, my pro career is going very well.
17:34
SPEAKER_00: And now that I'm signed,
17:36
SPEAKER_00: you know, I'm starting to get that that little bit of recognition for sure.
17:39
SPEAKER_00: You know, being on a big platform now.
17:42
SPEAKER_00: But man,
17:43
SPEAKER_00: I think I think that's The recognition in itself will come as long as I keep putting
17:49
SPEAKER_00: on great performances and just keep showing out.
17:54
SPEAKER_00: That'll all come eventually for sure.
17:56
SPEAKER_01: So you're used to it because you were how many times national champion?
18:01
SPEAKER_01: 22.
18:03
SPEAKER_01: And you didn't really get like people,
18:05
SPEAKER_01: sure people around you gave you credit and people were high on you,
18:09
SPEAKER_01: but you didn't hit the pros and people were like saying this Marco Romero
18:13
SPEAKER_01: and they're whispering about you and you've got to see him.
18:16
SPEAKER_01: Like you flew under the radar as an amateur and now as a pro.
18:19
SPEAKER_01: Is that what I understand?
18:21
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, definitely.
18:23
SPEAKER_00: But I think honestly, I think it's more just because of where I'm from.
18:28
SPEAKER_00: You know,
18:29
SPEAKER_00: I think Kansas is not a,
18:31
SPEAKER_00: It's not a state of, oh my gosh, there's a boxer out of Kansas.
18:38
SPEAKER_00: There's not much hype around that.
18:40
SPEAKER_00: So I think definitely being from where I'm from, I think we get underrated for sure.
18:45
SPEAKER_00: But I think I'm making a name for myself and I'm paving a way for myself as well.
18:49
SPEAKER_00: And I think it's just a matter of time before that recognition has to be recognized.
18:56
SPEAKER_01: Also, you say Kansas isn't a big place,
18:58
SPEAKER_01: but I believe it wasn't Bam Bam Rios from Kansas,
19:01
SPEAKER_01: Victor Ortiz, Kid Kansas, Ace of Vedia Brothers, were they from Kansas?
19:10
SPEAKER_00: So, I mean, there's been guys.
19:12
SPEAKER_00: No, there's definitely been guys.
19:14
SPEAKER_00: You know,
19:16
SPEAKER_00: I understand them,
19:17
SPEAKER_00: but to their story, I know they're from here, but they ended up leaving.
19:23
SPEAKER_00: You know, they ended up going...
19:26
SPEAKER_00: And training in California or wherever, you know.
19:30
SPEAKER_00: And I think that gave him that recognition,
19:34
SPEAKER_00: you know, leaving, you know, our state of Kansas is what gave him that recognition.
19:40
SPEAKER_00: But me, I've been faithful and I've stayed here and I've done my whole career here thus far.
19:48
SPEAKER_00: I think I should get some credit for that.
19:52
SPEAKER_00: I haven't left.
19:54
SPEAKER_00: I'm still at home and I'm still trying to put my state on the map for sure.
19:58
SPEAKER_01: How important is that, the loyalty to being in Kansas?
20:02
SPEAKER_00: I think it's super important.
20:04
SPEAKER_00: I think it's super important because I was born and raised here.
20:09
SPEAKER_00: All my community has shown me support.
20:13
SPEAKER_00: From the very get-go.
20:14
SPEAKER_00: So I think it's important that I stay here and I bring them back a world title
20:21
SPEAKER_00: that they deserve.
20:22
SPEAKER_00: Because without them, I wouldn't have even been able to get to this point in my career.
20:27
SPEAKER_00: So I think it's very important for me to stay faithful to my state
20:31
SPEAKER_00: and just represent them at the highest level of the sport.
20:34
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's a thing that you got me thinking about is like Virgil Hill,
20:37
SPEAKER_01: I think it was, who brought a title back to his hometown.
20:41
SPEAKER_01: Is that like, are you looking to be maybe even the Kansas boxer when it's all said and done?
20:46
SPEAKER_01: People think Kansas boxing, they think you?
20:48
SPEAKER_00: Yes, yes, definitely.
20:50
SPEAKER_00: Definitely.
20:50
SPEAKER_00: I want that,
20:51
SPEAKER_00: you know,
20:52
SPEAKER_00: at the end of my journey,
20:53
SPEAKER_00: when they look at Kansas, they just My name has to be mentioned, you know?
20:59
SPEAKER_00: I want to stamp my name in the boxing books,
21:02
SPEAKER_00: but for sure, whenever you're speaking about Kansas, you're going to speak about me.
21:05
SPEAKER_00: Not necessarily just about the shoes, you know?
21:08
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, that's...
21:11
SPEAKER_01: Some of what I'm talking about, too, though, in this story is that, like...
21:16
SPEAKER_01: Prospects at times,
21:19
SPEAKER_01: you hear things like, I think of Vito Milenicki, Gabe Flores Jr., Kermil Moulton.
21:26
SPEAKER_01: You hear these prospects and you see their whole career and people form opinions.
21:30
SPEAKER_01: They're like, I like you.
21:31
SPEAKER_01: I don't like this guy.
21:33
SPEAKER_01: And I think one thing that's interesting about you is I think maybe I'm wrong,
21:36
SPEAKER_01: but this fight on the PBC opener,
21:40
SPEAKER_01: this is going to be the first impression for a lot of fight fans nationally to form
21:44
SPEAKER_01: an opinion.
21:45
SPEAKER_01: Maybe you can push back on that,
21:47
SPEAKER_01: but I think it's kind of interesting with 15 pro fights,
21:50
SPEAKER_01: you're going to make your impression as a top prospect kind of
21:54
SPEAKER_01: at this point is your introduction.
21:56
SPEAKER_01: What are your thoughts on that?
21:58
SPEAKER_00: No, I mean, you know, man, I think everything happens at its time.
22:03
SPEAKER_00: You know,
22:03
SPEAKER_00: I think being in this boxing journey and like we were just talking about that,
22:08
SPEAKER_00: you know, kind of being under the radar.
22:11
SPEAKER_00: I think I've learned patience and I've learned that everything comes at a right time.
22:16
SPEAKER_00: You know, I think God puts you in positions at perfect timing.
22:20
SPEAKER_00: And I think right now I'm in a perfect time to start making big statements.
22:25
SPEAKER_00: And like you said, now I'm going to be Opening up on a national level.
22:31
SPEAKER_00: So I know people are definitely going to, like I said, going to start recognizing me.
22:36
SPEAKER_00: And the opinions are going to come, whether they hate me or like me.
22:40
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to still do my job and make sure I represent and do well, for sure.
22:46
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
22:47
SPEAKER_01: Well, that's a good take.
22:49
SPEAKER_01: Signing with PBC, how important was that for you?
22:53
SPEAKER_00: Oh, super, super important.
22:56
SPEAKER_00: I think...
22:57
SPEAKER_00: We go back again.
22:59
SPEAKER_00: You know,
23:00
SPEAKER_00: I didn't have that,
23:01
SPEAKER_00: you know,
23:02
SPEAKER_00: big offer coming off the amateurs,
23:04
SPEAKER_00: which is, I mean,
23:05
SPEAKER_00: I think it's,
23:06
SPEAKER_00: I think it was crazy,
23:07
SPEAKER_00: you know,
23:07
SPEAKER_00: just, you know, looking at my resume, you know, off the amateurs and everything.
23:11
SPEAKER_00: So, you know,
23:12
SPEAKER_00: we had to kind of,
23:13
SPEAKER_00: you know,
23:14
SPEAKER_00: fight and keep,
23:15
SPEAKER_00: you know,
23:16
SPEAKER_00: building my record until eventually,
23:18
SPEAKER_00: finally,
23:19
SPEAKER_00: the big promoter started, you know, looking at me and then eventually PBC came.
23:23
SPEAKER_00: Showed the most interest in me.
23:25
SPEAKER_00: And like I've said, I saw the most belief in them, in me.
23:29
SPEAKER_00: So that's why, you know, it's super grateful and important for me to be with PBC.
23:34
SPEAKER_01: What type of performance do you expect to have?
23:37
SPEAKER_01: Like, I mean, this isn't just, this is on TV, on regular TV.
23:41
SPEAKER_01: You're opening the card.
23:44
SPEAKER_01: I mean, not to overhype you, but I mean, if you get a really good performance, I believe...
23:49
SPEAKER_01: All 13 of your knockouts are in the first two rounds.
23:52
SPEAKER_01: You tend to be a very exciting fighter.
23:56
SPEAKER_01: A good performance kind of puts you as a fringe contender.
23:59
SPEAKER_01: You almost bypass the prospect stage based on your record,
24:03
SPEAKER_01: and you start getting mentioned amongst the top guys, not to hype you up.
24:07
SPEAKER_01: But what's your perception of it?
24:10
SPEAKER_00: Definitely.
24:12
SPEAKER_00: I'm coming off a big performance in August on my PBC debut.
24:17
SPEAKER_00: On the prelims.
24:18
SPEAKER_00: And now that I'm opening the main card this next Saturday, October 17th.
24:25
SPEAKER_00: And man, I'm just looking to deliver.
24:27
SPEAKER_00: Like you said,
24:27
SPEAKER_00: I know that once if I keep putting on great performances,
24:31
SPEAKER_00: it's just going to shoot me to the top of going from a prospect to now maybe
24:35
SPEAKER_00: a contender.
24:37
SPEAKER_00: So that's just important to me,
24:41
SPEAKER_00: making sure I put on a great performance on October 17th for sure.
24:45
SPEAKER_01: Where do you think you are?
24:46
SPEAKER_01: Are you a prospect or are you a contender?
24:50
SPEAKER_00: I think right now I would still say I'm a prospect.
24:54
SPEAKER_00: I would still say I'm a prospect,
24:55
SPEAKER_00: but I think I would also say that I'm on the verge of becoming that contender
24:59
SPEAKER_00: for sure.
25:00
SPEAKER_00: And I think saying that at 20 years old, I think it's pretty impressive.
25:05
SPEAKER_00: I think I'm definitely...
25:10
SPEAKER_00: A young gun in my division and amongst all the other boxers,
25:15
SPEAKER_00: I think I'm definitely one of the youngest that's making a name for myself in
25:19
SPEAKER_00: the sport.
25:20
SPEAKER_00: So I think saying that at 20 years old, I think it's impressive in itself.
25:25
SPEAKER_01: And what's your thoughts on your division?
25:28
SPEAKER_00: I think my division right now is kind of open.
25:31
SPEAKER_00: I'm going to be campaigning at 160.
25:33
SPEAKER_00: I know there's some title holders right now.
25:38
SPEAKER_00: And, you know,
25:39
SPEAKER_00: hopefully we can start getting those bigger fights once I move up to 10 rounds and
25:43
SPEAKER_00: then eventually going up to those title holders and getting a belt for sure.
25:51
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
25:52
SPEAKER_01: Well, I mean...
25:54
SPEAKER_01: It's very exciting to follow your career.
25:56
SPEAKER_01: I think I've done a lot of interviews with you because of Bob.
25:59
SPEAKER_01: And I'm excited to do this.
26:00
SPEAKER_01: I'm going to have a piece out this week.
26:03
SPEAKER_01: And it's just fun to watch your journey because a little editorial,
26:08
SPEAKER_01: but it's like a lot of guys in your position wouldn't have spent the money.
26:13
SPEAKER_01: They wouldn't have spent money on their career, on a PR guy to build their record.
26:19
SPEAKER_01: And you spent the money.
26:21
SPEAKER_01: And I think that not just your talent,
26:23
SPEAKER_01: it's the willingness to invest in yourself along with the talent makes me curious
26:29
SPEAKER_01: to see where you go.
26:30
SPEAKER_01: Because a lot of people have talent,
26:32
SPEAKER_01: but you were willing to put financial risk in the equation to see if this works.
26:37
SPEAKER_00: No, 100%.
26:38
SPEAKER_00: I mean, there's no risk.
26:40
SPEAKER_00: I mean, there's no reward without risk.
26:42
SPEAKER_00: So you got to put all the chips on the table for sure.
26:46
SPEAKER_00: Anything I missed?
26:48
SPEAKER_00: No, just want to thank everybody that's been watching me and following me and
26:53
SPEAKER_00: to just keep staying tuned.
26:57
SPEAKER_01: Okay, so let's go to the better half of this program and let's answer some
27:01
SPEAKER_01: of your questions that everyone's been wanting me to touch on.
27:05
SPEAKER_01: Does Ben Whitaker have the boxer?
27:09
SPEAKER_01: Let me rephrase this.
27:11
SPEAKER_01: Okay, so let's go to the second half of the program.
27:13
SPEAKER_01: Question about Ben Whitaker.
27:16
SPEAKER_01: I've wondered about focus and someone pointed out that he might have ADHD
27:20
SPEAKER_01: and Whitaker has publicly and repeatedly confirmed that he has ADHD,
27:26
SPEAKER_01: and they link me into a couple of things.
27:29
SPEAKER_01: I'll check this out on my free time.
27:31
SPEAKER_01: But with some of my criticisms of Whitaker,
27:33
SPEAKER_01: could it be as simple as his focus comes from a medical condition?
27:38
SPEAKER_01: Let me unpack this deeper.
27:41
SPEAKER_01: Is ADHD a part of society for children that grow up with cell phones and social media?
27:48
SPEAKER_01: Is that just an extension of...
27:51
SPEAKER_01: A personality of a certain type of person,
27:53
SPEAKER_01: an extrovert,
27:54
SPEAKER_01: now becomes ADHD because they want to be so engaged with everything around them,
27:59
SPEAKER_01: so forth and so on.
28:01
SPEAKER_01: I think that there's a level of focus with Whitaker that we need
28:05
SPEAKER_01: to follow throughout his career.
28:08
SPEAKER_01: Good question.
28:10
SPEAKER_01: Lukie bullying Dakota and some people thinking that I'm coming off as a dick.
28:15
SPEAKER_01: I'm sorry about that.
28:16
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes I joke around and I think that if you're not a...
28:20
SPEAKER_01: I truly don't want that to be what the impression is that you get.
28:42
SPEAKER_01: I joke around a lot,
28:43
SPEAKER_01: so I'm sorry if it comes off that I'm bullying Dakota because I don't think that's
28:48
SPEAKER_01: the case.
28:49
SPEAKER_01: I'll call him later tonight and irritate him, but if that's the case, we will get to it.
28:54
SPEAKER_00: I'm doing like an exercise while I do this.
28:58
SPEAKER_01: And also criticism, bad podcast this week.
29:01
SPEAKER_01: I think you got carried away with your podcast this week and lost the energy for
29:04
SPEAKER_01: the paywall podcast.
29:05
SPEAKER_01: I want to talk about that because I'm trying to integrate
29:09
SPEAKER_01: the Substack recording studio, but I'm having technical issues now.
29:14
SPEAKER_01: With the sound.
29:15
SPEAKER_01: So what I've now started to do is I back it up with my sound recording studio
29:21
SPEAKER_01: and it's not as big of a deal.
29:23
SPEAKER_01: So if I don't get the audio in the video, then I can just give you guys the audio.
29:28
SPEAKER_01: But I've had about four episodes, podcasts that I've recorded.
29:32
SPEAKER_01: And on Friday it was very, very scary because here's entitlement.
29:37
SPEAKER_01: You want to see how scary for most people is how do I pay the bills or something like that.
29:42
SPEAKER_01: Scary for me was I had my Substack going and I got booted out of the Substack
29:47
SPEAKER_01: and I thought I was going to be in Substack Purgatory running a multi-stream
29:51
SPEAKER_01: from Substack and YouTube indefinitely.
29:54
SPEAKER_01: And I figured out how to fix it.
29:56
SPEAKER_01: But the problem was both streams had zero audio and it took three tries and
30:02
SPEAKER_01: about three hours and one car issue kept me at home that day.
30:09
SPEAKER_01: So running to the car dealership to fix things definitely wasn't my best effort.
30:14
SPEAKER_01: I want to try to get one out for those that really enjoy the show.
30:18
SPEAKER_01: But it may be a good reflection that if I don't have the energy
30:22
SPEAKER_01: and I get beaten down a little bit, I don't have to do it.
30:26
SPEAKER_01: They said you moved away from the five questions to guide you in the paywall podcast.
30:30
SPEAKER_01: For instance, you didn't even mention Mendoza.
30:32
SPEAKER_01: You only spoke a collazo.
30:34
SPEAKER_01: Lukie, I thought we went over this.
30:36
SPEAKER_01: You need to stop talking about collazo.
30:38
SPEAKER_01: Stop it.
30:39
SPEAKER_01: Colazo wasn't even fighting.
30:41
SPEAKER_01: And you talked about him, and it was pretty disrespectful to Sandoval and Mendoza.
30:46
SPEAKER_01: Okay, noted.
30:48
SPEAKER_01: But as I said in the opening segue, my perception, which was wrong, was it was a tune-up fight.
30:55
SPEAKER_01: And though I was wrong,
30:58
SPEAKER_01: that matchup wasn't scintillating or captivating,
31:00
SPEAKER_01: and nothing about the pre-fight buildup really got me going.
31:05
SPEAKER_01: So...
31:07
SPEAKER_01: I get it,
31:08
SPEAKER_01: but I think the story,
31:09
SPEAKER_01: at least for me going in,
31:11
SPEAKER_01: was the story of where does Colazo fit in,
31:14
SPEAKER_01: and now it's the story of a Cinderella in Mendoza winning a belt and becoming a guy.
31:18
SPEAKER_01: Can you talk about weight classes and the difference between winning the fight in
31:22
SPEAKER_01: the gym and training?
31:25
SPEAKER_01: Especially talk about super middleweight and light heavyweight.
31:28
SPEAKER_01: Well for those two divisions in particular,
31:30
SPEAKER_01: for me at least,
31:31
SPEAKER_01: I feel as though super middleweight and light heavyweight are heavyweight from
31:36
SPEAKER_01: the 1960s.
31:37
SPEAKER_01: Like Joe Frazier might have been able to compete at super middleweight and light heavyweight.
31:42
SPEAKER_01: Some of these old heavyweights, people are like, dude he was the best bro.
31:47
SPEAKER_01: And they were really good and they fought more often and they had kind of
31:52
SPEAKER_01: a higher middle class of contenders, the Ken Nortons and stuff like that.
31:56
SPEAKER_01: They had a better grouping of guys.
31:59
SPEAKER_01: That being said,
31:59
SPEAKER_01: a lot of the flip side to that is people don't look at
32:04
SPEAKER_01: that human bodies are different.
32:05
SPEAKER_01: Technology is different.
32:07
SPEAKER_01: And a lot of people, I think, fall in love with the boxing that they fell in love with.
32:12
SPEAKER_01: For me, it's like...
32:14
SPEAKER_01: It's a certain sweet spot from like 07 to 2012.
32:18
SPEAKER_01: And it's like romanticized to me and some Mike Tyson fights that way.
32:21
SPEAKER_01: But really, there's a certain era of fights I think we all fall in love with.
32:25
SPEAKER_01: I think guys in their 50s, it's the 80s.
32:28
SPEAKER_01: Some people, it's the advent of PBC.
32:32
SPEAKER_01: Some people, it's Floyd's career.
32:34
SPEAKER_01: Some it's De La Hoya.
32:36
SPEAKER_01: But there's certain things we fell in love with.
32:38
SPEAKER_01: And I'm not even sure why I got it.
32:40
SPEAKER_01: Oh, because of the heavyweights.
32:42
SPEAKER_01: But for me, I think I've talked about this a few times.
32:46
SPEAKER_01: I think until you get to featherweight,
32:50
SPEAKER_01: You don't really experience punchers outside of a few guys.
32:55
SPEAKER_01: So there's a couple of guys who can punch.
32:58
SPEAKER_01: We got Yabuki at flyweight,
33:00
SPEAKER_01: you got Colazo,
33:01
SPEAKER_01: but pound for pound,
33:03
SPEAKER_01: lower weight guys are higher level fighters, but they don't hit as hard.
33:07
SPEAKER_01: So everybody's fast, everybody's a little bit more talented, but they don't typically hit hard.
33:12
SPEAKER_01: Featherweight is one of those divisions where you start to see guys win just
33:17
SPEAKER_01: by being the bigger, angrier guy.
33:19
SPEAKER_01: Lightweight is definitely another jump because lightweight is basically
33:23
SPEAKER_01: a welterweight type frame.
33:25
SPEAKER_01: A guy who's a lightweight typically can transition to a welterweight fairly comfortably.
33:31
SPEAKER_01: So I'd say lightweight is the next checkpoint featherweight to lightweight.
33:37
SPEAKER_01: Junior middleweight now is a different ballgame.
33:40
SPEAKER_01: Guys feel good testing the waters all the way to Welter.
33:43
SPEAKER_01: But once you get to junior middleweight, that's a pretty big boy.
33:47
SPEAKER_01: Everyone's over six feet.
33:49
SPEAKER_01: Everyone's probably about 180, 190 pounds in the modern era.
33:54
SPEAKER_01: And those are ones where you can have...
33:58
SPEAKER_01: And I think the good thought exercise about weight classes,
34:01
SPEAKER_01: training, and all that is...
34:03
SPEAKER_01: Look at weigh-ins or all that.
34:07
SPEAKER_01: I was going to say go to an amateur boxing tournament.
34:09
SPEAKER_01: But like watch a press event and look at some of the guys competing in the weight classes.
34:14
SPEAKER_01: Look at the heights and builds.
34:16
SPEAKER_01: And traditionally you want to see fighters, especially prospects, kind of fit that.
34:21
SPEAKER_01: And if they're not fitting that,
34:23
SPEAKER_01: I always go back to Bill Parcells talked about Brock Osweiler, a quarterback.
34:28
SPEAKER_01: And he was, I believe, 6'7".
34:30
SPEAKER_01: And he said something profound that always stood out to me where he said,
34:33
SPEAKER_01: he's one of two things.
34:34
SPEAKER_01: He's either the exception to the rule or it doesn't work.
34:37
SPEAKER_01: Because you look around the NFL,
34:38
SPEAKER_01: which is the highest level of competition, and there's no one that's 6'7".
34:42
SPEAKER_01: And there has to be someone out there that's 6'7 that could be there.
34:46
SPEAKER_01: So what's the reason that's happening?
34:48
SPEAKER_01: And I think that the easiest way to look at weight classes are...
34:53
SPEAKER_01: Look at the builds of the guys at the highest level.
34:55
SPEAKER_01: I think it's why featherweight is so fascinating.
34:58
SPEAKER_01: At one point,
34:58
SPEAKER_01: you had a 5'3 champion or 5'2 champion and a 6'3 champion,
35:03
SPEAKER_01: and you really didn't know who would win that fight.
35:06
SPEAKER_01: And that's why that division,
35:07
SPEAKER_01: I think, is one of the more fascinating ones is the unique frames you get.
35:12
SPEAKER_01: And I think that when you start seeing those different variants and frames,
35:15
SPEAKER_01: you start to see how some guys are trying to win it in the gym
35:18
SPEAKER_01: and some guys are trying to win it with skill.
35:20
SPEAKER_01: And it's not Not always as obvious which guy is which.
35:23
SPEAKER_01: Okay, how did Charles Shinema beat Samuel Arnold?
35:27
SPEAKER_01: I haven't seen the fight.
35:28
SPEAKER_01: I read an article by Sports Rap on Facebook of all places.
35:32
SPEAKER_01: Shinema traveled alone and was cornered by Charles Huerta the week of the fight.
35:37
SPEAKER_01: Older fighter from Africa, late replacement.
35:41
SPEAKER_01: I think this might be the classic, maybe underestimated.
35:44
SPEAKER_01: Maybe there's something that happened to Sam Arnold,
35:47
SPEAKER_01: but it's a very disappointing loss for Arnold.
35:50
SPEAKER_01: And it's a big,
35:52
SPEAKER_01: big win for Shinima to do this basically on his own,
35:59
SPEAKER_01: to have the courage to take that fight and then win a fight like that.
36:02
SPEAKER_01: Do you know Aaron Noriega is?
36:05
SPEAKER_01: No, but he must be affiliated with someone extremely powerful because he's
36:09
SPEAKER_01: on this big Picard this weekend.
36:11
SPEAKER_01: He's an American fighter.
36:13
SPEAKER_01: None of his fights stand out to me.
36:15
SPEAKER_01: And I can't recall any major trainer or national background that stood out to me.
36:22
SPEAKER_01: So I'm kind of curious how he got in this spot.
36:26
SPEAKER_01: Was it a good sparring session?
36:27
SPEAKER_01: Did he align himself with someone?
36:29
SPEAKER_01: Who is this guy?
36:32
SPEAKER_01: People are asking about the Pro Box TV card, and I'm glad because it's a very good one.
36:36
SPEAKER_01: They're saying, who's going to be the main event?
36:39
SPEAKER_01: Right?
36:40
SPEAKER_01: Good question.
36:43
SPEAKER_00: I got to move this.
36:46
SPEAKER_01: I gotta move this.
36:47
SPEAKER_01: This is just horrible.
36:49
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
36:51
SPEAKER_01: Okay.
36:52
SPEAKER_01: People are asking about Pro Box TV.
36:56
SPEAKER_01: People are wondering who's gonna be in the main event for this one.
37:01
SPEAKER_01: It is Kevin Anton versus Freddy Rojas.
37:05
SPEAKER_01: Anton is kind of like...
37:08
SPEAKER_01: Very comparable to a Sebastian Fundora,
37:10
SPEAKER_01: big puncher,
37:12
SPEAKER_01: very promising fighter,
37:14
SPEAKER_01: yet I think there's some questions about where he fits into the division
37:19
SPEAKER_01: because he's an up-and-comer.
37:21
SPEAKER_01: But pressure fighter,
37:23
SPEAKER_01: has a good trainer,
37:24
SPEAKER_01: Samuel Quintero Sr.,
37:26
SPEAKER_01: who's worked with Cesar Diaz,
37:27
SPEAKER_01: who was an old golden boy fighter,
37:29
SPEAKER_01: and he obviously has his son assigned to top rank.
37:31
SPEAKER_01: He's a very, very quality trainer, invests a lot of time into his fighters.
37:35
SPEAKER_01: Freddy Rojas Jr. was a...
37:38
SPEAKER_01: Top-notch, a top-notch amateur.
37:44
SPEAKER_01: And that was crazy.
37:47
SPEAKER_01: I started hearing myself back, which probably means this is recording.
37:50
SPEAKER_01: But Freddie Rojas Jr. was a top-notch amateur.
37:53
SPEAKER_01: He just had the problem that he wasn't better than Tiger Johnson.
37:55
SPEAKER_01: Tiger Johnson qualified for the Oxnard Last Chance Qualifiers in 2019 and then went
38:02
SPEAKER_01: on to be an Olympian.
38:05
SPEAKER_01: Rojas kind of was in his shadow.
38:07
SPEAKER_01: Took some fights here and there.
38:09
SPEAKER_01: I remember he was kind of getting billed on PBC cards a little bit.
38:14
SPEAKER_01: Never could get momentum and then earlier this year loses to Damien Samurai Sosa.
38:19
SPEAKER_01: Sosa's a good fighter but he's not a great fighter.
38:22
SPEAKER_01: He's He's had his ups and downs.
38:24
SPEAKER_01: He's beat Marquez Valle.
38:26
SPEAKER_01: He's beat Freddy Rojas, but he lost to Xander Zayas.
38:29
SPEAKER_01: Seems like there's definitely,
38:30
SPEAKER_01: like Sosa in the most respectful way possible, is a true gatekeeper.
38:34
SPEAKER_01: He's able to shut the door on the guys that can't quite get to that next level,
38:38
SPEAKER_01: but he's not shown the ability to win the title.
38:41
SPEAKER_01: Maybe he could be a guy like Resendez,
38:43
SPEAKER_01: who we'll talk about in a little bit, and be able to do it.
38:48
SPEAKER_01: And kind of unconventionally and win a fight down the road against maybe
38:54
SPEAKER_01: the perfect opportunity or by experience with pressure.
38:58
SPEAKER_01: So to me,
38:59
SPEAKER_01: perfectly,
39:00
SPEAKER_01: honestly,
39:01
SPEAKER_01: when you ask me, well,
39:02
SPEAKER_01: they ask me about why Brian Acosta is headlining the card
39:04
SPEAKER_01: and Kevin Anton versus Rojas is headlining the card.
39:08
SPEAKER_01: And Justin Pauldo against Rene Telly's gutter on, which is a fantastic fight.
39:13
SPEAKER_01: And I think Pauldo really should be in line for a good Texas fight after this.
39:19
SPEAKER_01: I think Anton's a big favorite against Rojas and Rojas has taken this fight on late notice.
39:24
SPEAKER_01: Did you know Milan Pratt is trained by Bobby Benton?
39:26
SPEAKER_01: I did because Bobby told me that in a lobby at the Commerce Casino nearly two years ago.
39:34
SPEAKER_01: January 2025 when he had Tyler Herk Howard versus Eric Priest.
39:39
SPEAKER_01: My guy Fan took the blame for not posting enough previews for last week's shows.
39:44
SPEAKER_01: Fan, you're never to blame.
39:46
SPEAKER_01: You keep the lights on for the once a week podcast and we We deeply appreciate you.
39:50
SPEAKER_01: You are family of the show.
39:52
SPEAKER_01: How did Ken Shiro not get a chance against Will Baldo, but Andrew Maloney did?
39:57
SPEAKER_01: You know what?
39:58
SPEAKER_01: I don't know, but if you want, we could try to get Tony Tolge as a guest or...
40:04
SPEAKER_01: I can try to get Tony to do a voice note and throw in a voice note
40:08
SPEAKER_01: into next week's once a week pod.
40:10
SPEAKER_01: And maybe we can get a Tony Tolge voice note to talk about that situation
40:16
SPEAKER_01: if you're very curious.
40:16
SPEAKER_01: So leave a message and maybe we'll try to do that.
40:20
SPEAKER_01: And we'll try to do more integration to the once a week podcast, more performative nature.
40:26
SPEAKER_01: The JBC, WBC and WBA podcast.
40:32
SPEAKER_01: Basically, this question is, they didn't feel Kenshiro to Raji lost to Ricardo Sandoval.
40:39
SPEAKER_01: And then the U.S.-centric power center of boxing needs to be abolished.
40:43
SPEAKER_01: It's gotten to the point where it's obvious it's not even about the business.
40:46
SPEAKER_01: It's about maintaining power.
40:48
SPEAKER_01: Well, I think the big issue right now with U.S. boxing,
40:51
SPEAKER_01: and it's been this way for about 15 to maybe even 20 years, is the issue is...
40:57
SPEAKER_01: It feels as though promoters are just trying to build their fighters up to make
41:01
SPEAKER_01: as much money as possible, which is great.
41:03
SPEAKER_01: It's a business.
41:04
SPEAKER_01: But they're not serving the sport's best interest.
41:07
SPEAKER_01: And we need cross-promoted fights.
41:10
SPEAKER_01: We need the best fights possible to happen.
41:12
SPEAKER_01: I just don't feel people are watching.
41:17
SPEAKER_01: I don't even think there's an interest for people to want to bootleg these fights.
41:21
SPEAKER_01: I don't think there's a deep fascination.
41:23
SPEAKER_01: And you see this on a deeper level because major media outlets are cutting their lives.
41:27
SPEAKER_01: Boxing reporters currently,
41:29
SPEAKER_01: because the demand is so low,
41:31
SPEAKER_01: I wouldn't say it's going extinct,
41:33
SPEAKER_01: but it's hitting a harsh lull where there isn't that deep fascination
41:37
SPEAKER_01: because it just seems as though we're in a point where the guys need
41:41
SPEAKER_01: to fight each other to create the fascinating superstars that will come next.
41:46
SPEAKER_01: And the scary part for me as a boxing person who's really been obsessed with the sport is...
41:51
SPEAKER_01: Typically, there's always one guy that's kind of like, okay, he'll probably carry us.
41:56
SPEAKER_01: And I guess you could say that's Ryan Garcia because Canelo,
42:00
SPEAKER_01: at the point Floyd Mayweather beat him and he started to take over as
42:05
SPEAKER_01: a boxing persona and the big guy in boxing,
42:09
SPEAKER_01: there was like a hint of is he a real fighter or is he more of an attraction?
42:15
SPEAKER_01: Garcia kind of has that.
42:17
SPEAKER_01: But it's like Garcia's lost in ways that Canelo never lost at that point.
42:22
SPEAKER_01: And it just doesn't feel like he's consistent enough.
42:24
SPEAKER_01: And I guess for me at least,
42:28
SPEAKER_01: boxing needs superstars who are, like,
42:31
SPEAKER_01: it sounds funny,
42:32
SPEAKER_01: but who are heavy favorites even in fights that are good matchups on paper
42:37
SPEAKER_01: because they're that dominant.
42:38
SPEAKER_01: You know, Floyd, Manny, even Cotto was that way.
42:41
SPEAKER_01: So I think...
42:45
SPEAKER_01: The U.S.
42:46
SPEAKER_01: model has just gotten stale and it's gotten into a perspective
42:53
SPEAKER_01: where it's just prolonged fights to the point where I think the consumer in the U.S.
42:59
SPEAKER_01: isn't around as much anymore.
43:01
SPEAKER_01: They might pop up for a name or a fight they like,
43:04
SPEAKER_01: but I think there's a good chunk of people that are just out on the sport
43:08
SPEAKER_01: because they've lost faith on it.
43:10
SPEAKER_01: If you were to focus last week on the Paywell podcast on
43:14
SPEAKER_01: the actual Sandoval versus Mendoza matchup,
43:17
SPEAKER_01: a secondary question would have been that Mendoza is a Southpaw and
43:20
SPEAKER_01: that Sandoval doesn't have experience fighting Southpaws,
43:23
SPEAKER_01: let alone Southpaws who are abnormally tall for the weight class
43:26
SPEAKER_01: at three weeks notice.
43:27
SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I mean, I dropped the ball.
43:29
SPEAKER_01: Like I didn't see it coming.
43:30
SPEAKER_01: I didn't see it coming.
43:31
SPEAKER_01: Although I'll say when I saw Scott Christ about Bad Left Hook, that was a big thing.
43:36
SPEAKER_01: The same as Alan Chavez versus Erdson Garcia.
43:40
SPEAKER_01: Good calls.
43:41
SPEAKER_01: Okay, let's jump over to film study.
43:45
SPEAKER_01: Are you guys ready for film study?
43:46
SPEAKER_01: I know.
43:47
SPEAKER_01: I know I am.
43:48
SPEAKER_01: Very conscientious in my tooth if people can see this,
43:53
SPEAKER_01: even though the video won't be part of it.
43:55
SPEAKER_01: Let's do film study of Sebastian Fedora versus Ermol Hardribaj.
44:03
SPEAKER_01: Sure.
44:04
SPEAKER_01: Probably said that.
44:05
SPEAKER_01: Perfect.
44:06
SPEAKER_01: So with Fundora and Hadribaj, Hadribaj is a southpaw who reminds me of Sam Solomon.
44:13
SPEAKER_01: I did some film study earlier today and I watched tape in real time and broke it down.
44:18
SPEAKER_01: But now in many ways,
44:19
SPEAKER_01: it's better if I do two once a week podcasts because I feel like I give you
44:23
SPEAKER_01: a better,
44:24
SPEAKER_01: more concise version of my take and takes on things because I've kind
44:28
SPEAKER_01: of let it settle.
44:30
SPEAKER_01: Flindora is a very good fighter.
44:33
SPEAKER_01: I think that there was initial skepticism based around his height and his weight.
44:39
SPEAKER_01: A 6'6", 154-pound fighter isn't normal.
44:44
SPEAKER_01: And I think it kind of has that gawking nature of how is this possible?
44:50
SPEAKER_01: What the heck?
44:51
SPEAKER_01: I think we've gotten away from that more.
44:55
SPEAKER_01: And now we're to the stage of, yeah, that's just Fendora.
44:59
SPEAKER_01: And he's evolved into one of the great modern fighters,
45:03
SPEAKER_01: or at very least a very good champion, a serviceable top level champion.
45:08
SPEAKER_01: He's obviously a pressure fighter.
45:10
SPEAKER_01: He's put the Jamonte Clark fight behind him.
45:13
SPEAKER_01: Although, to point out what we just talked about, Jamonte Clark was a southpaw.
45:19
SPEAKER_01: Hardrabaj is a southpaw.
45:23
SPEAKER_01: Jamonte Clark's a little bit taller than Hardrabaj.
45:27
SPEAKER_01: The big thing about this fight to me is this fight's going to show just how good Fendora is.
45:34
SPEAKER_01: I have been critical of Fendora, I guess, but I'm not.
45:38
SPEAKER_01: I think Fendora's really good.
45:40
SPEAKER_01: I think Fendora's really, really good.
45:42
SPEAKER_01: He's won me over.
45:43
SPEAKER_01: Two wins over Tim Zhu.
45:44
SPEAKER_01: Cordell Booker's sneaky good fighter.
45:47
SPEAKER_01: And then beating Keith Thurman as dominantly as he did.
45:50
SPEAKER_01: I mean, I think that this is a really, really good run he's on.
45:53
SPEAKER_01: He's really kind of proven himself.
45:56
SPEAKER_01: So I think he's really good,
45:58
SPEAKER_01: and I think he's kind of learned how to use his distance,
46:01
SPEAKER_01: and he's a tremendous pressure fighter,
46:04
SPEAKER_01: and when he starts to break people down,
46:05
SPEAKER_01: he's just kind of very violent and calculated.
46:09
SPEAKER_01: That being said, hard rebaj in the footage, and the Samake fate is debated.
46:15
SPEAKER_01: A lot of smart people I know are on the fence if he won it or if he lost that fight,
46:20
SPEAKER_01: so that's something to know.
46:22
SPEAKER_01: Um...
46:24
SPEAKER_01: Hadri Baj to me is, he's going to be all the way out.
46:29
SPEAKER_01: So he's going to fight you at range, which to me is an examination of Findora.
46:33
SPEAKER_01: Can you keep distance, right?
46:34
SPEAKER_01: Can you keep distance?
46:35
SPEAKER_01: Can you keep distance?
46:37
SPEAKER_01: Hadri Baj is going to stay on the outside and then he does It was about hustle points.
46:41
SPEAKER_01: Hard to bodge is someone...
47:10
SPEAKER_01: Where if it's his type of fight,
47:11
SPEAKER_01: he's going to be on the outside,
47:12
SPEAKER_01: he's going to kind of mug you,
47:13
SPEAKER_01: and then he's kind of going to go back,
47:15
SPEAKER_01: and it's just going to be a weird, awkward fight.
47:17
SPEAKER_01: I think there's two worlds for this fight.
47:20
SPEAKER_01: Fendora just beats him up, and he's just a different level.
47:23
SPEAKER_01: Or this is just a really weird, ugly decision win for Fendora.
47:28
SPEAKER_01: Or maybe worst case scenario, like something odd happens.
47:31
SPEAKER_01: But I think...
47:33
SPEAKER_01: There's no way that this isn't one of those two outcomes.
47:37
SPEAKER_01: I think it's either Fendora's power is too much or Harder Bodge is just
47:43
SPEAKER_01: a really avoidant, tricky guy who has just an awkward, awkward style.
47:49
SPEAKER_01: And I think that the hard part about this fight for a guy like Fendora,
47:53
SPEAKER_01: if you want to talk about spiritually, is...
47:56
SPEAKER_01: You have to just fight a guy who's your mandatory,
47:59
SPEAKER_01: but there's, if you beat him, people are going to say, who was he?
48:03
SPEAKER_01: And if you look bad to him, they're going to say, you're not very good because you did it.
48:06
SPEAKER_01: Fendora has everything to lose in this.
48:08
SPEAKER_01: If he looks really good, that's frigging impressive.
48:11
SPEAKER_01: That's very impressive to me.
48:13
SPEAKER_01: Let's go Armando Resendez versus Keon Muzidir.
48:19
SPEAKER_01: And this was originally going to be Jermel Charlo, where Charlo was going to be in this fight.
48:26
SPEAKER_01: But Charlo got injured.
48:29
SPEAKER_01: And Dakota did a great rant on this.
48:32
SPEAKER_01: You know, both Charlos are just unreliable.
48:35
SPEAKER_01: They're unreliable narrators.
48:38
SPEAKER_01: Why was Keon Mazudir brought as an opponent after Charlo couldn't get into Australia?
48:46
SPEAKER_01: That was a July fight.
48:48
SPEAKER_01: Now you're bringing Charlo back in October.
48:50
SPEAKER_01: Charlo was talking about he wants to fight twice.
48:53
SPEAKER_01: He ends up not fighting.
48:54
SPEAKER_01: I don't even know if he fought this year.
48:56
SPEAKER_01: I'm not even doing research, but it's like, at this point, who cares about the Charlo's careers?
49:01
SPEAKER_01: I used to be so fascinated.
49:03
SPEAKER_01: I remember when he fought for his brother, Jermell Charlo, fought for the undisputed title.
49:11
SPEAKER_01: Castano.
49:11
SPEAKER_01: That's who I was thinking of.
49:12
SPEAKER_01: So I remember when Jermell Charlo fought Castano on July 2021.
49:17
SPEAKER_01: And I was super thrilled about that fight.
49:22
SPEAKER_01: And times have changed.
49:25
SPEAKER_01: They're not as exciting.
49:28
SPEAKER_01: The world has moved on.
49:30
SPEAKER_01: And the fact that this fight was rescheduled is absolutely goofy.
49:35
SPEAKER_01: It's a goofy boy moment.
49:37
SPEAKER_01: This fight should not have been rescheduled for Charlo.
49:41
SPEAKER_01: Watching tape on Mazudier,
49:45
SPEAKER_01: he is a domestic level fighter who has no real attributes for
49:50
SPEAKER_01: the world class fighters.
49:52
SPEAKER_01: He comes forward, he gets hit a lot, he doesn't particularly have power.
49:59
SPEAKER_01: And he struggles against kind of elite fighters.
50:03
SPEAKER_01: Now, the question with this is, Armando Resendez...
50:08
SPEAKER_01: He's a former world champion,
50:09
SPEAKER_01: but he also kind of fell into a gatekeeper role after beating Kilo the Kid, Madera.
50:15
SPEAKER_01: He lost to Marky Hernandez and then ended up,
50:18
SPEAKER_01: you know,
50:18
SPEAKER_01: in a fight of the year type fight with Elijah Garcia and looked to be destined
50:22
SPEAKER_01: to be kind of a guy that was used to propel up young fighters and
50:26
SPEAKER_01: then beats Caleb Plant,
50:27
SPEAKER_01: wins a belt,
50:28
SPEAKER_01: loses it in his first defense to Jaime Munguia because he just kind
50:31
SPEAKER_01: of walks forward.
50:33
SPEAKER_01: To me, this is just a fight where Resendez probably mugs Keon.
50:38
SPEAKER_01: The problem is, did Resendez have a full camp?
50:42
SPEAKER_01: Because even though Keon Mazzudier doesn't wow me,
50:46
SPEAKER_01: wouldn't that be totally boxing if he beats Resendez if Resendez isn't focused?
50:51
SPEAKER_01: And then we get a Charlo fight that we don't want and it's sold as something good.
50:57
SPEAKER_01: I don't know, but it's like this is not a good matchup.
51:00
SPEAKER_01: And it's like more of a matchup now than the Charlo fight because Resendez is
51:04
SPEAKER_01: at least a world ranked fighter.
51:07
SPEAKER_01: I don't know what we're doing here.
51:08
SPEAKER_01: We need to do better.
51:11
SPEAKER_01: Brandon Figueroa versus Tomoki Kameda.
51:14
SPEAKER_01: I think this is like an anybody has a chance fight because Kameda trains in Mexico.
51:18
SPEAKER_01: I think that someone offered good insight that he's kind of a promoter slash fighter
51:24
SPEAKER_01: at this point,
51:25
SPEAKER_01: but he did good against D'Angelo Leo in his last fights returns before Leo.
51:30
SPEAKER_01: And Figueroa has that big, big win over Nick Ball earlier in the year.
51:35
SPEAKER_01: Someone pointed out that Figueroa really had 24 fights at 122 or under.
51:40
SPEAKER_01: Their questioning is chin.
51:41
SPEAKER_01: I think that for me,
51:42
SPEAKER_01: it's not as much the chin with Figueroa because I don't think that's as much
51:47
SPEAKER_01: the issue.
51:47
SPEAKER_01: I think it's his reflexes because,
51:50
SPEAKER_01: I mean, he has a style that's very physical and takes a lot of damage.
51:54
SPEAKER_01: Tomoki Kameda,
51:56
SPEAKER_01: I could see the Cinderella storyline people want to paint
52:00
SPEAKER_01: for him potentially fighting Neo in a way as a featherweight belt.
52:04
SPEAKER_01: The problem is Kameda's never won a fight like this.
52:08
SPEAKER_01: And Figueroa is coming off a win where he reinvented himself.
52:12
SPEAKER_01: And he's had low moments, but his low moments come against boxers.
52:16
SPEAKER_01: Kameda is an older come forward puncher.
52:20
SPEAKER_01: I think this is the type of guy Figueroa stops.
52:23
SPEAKER_01: But I think that you're going to see maybe a little bit of Cinderella storylines there.
52:27
SPEAKER_01: I wouldn't be shocked if it turns into a war.
52:29
SPEAKER_01: I wouldn't even be shocked if Kameda won because this is a fight
52:33
SPEAKER_01: where I expect both fighters to run into each other.
52:36
SPEAKER_01: Now, here's a great one.
52:37
SPEAKER_01: The Indian super lightweight title fight this week.
52:41
SPEAKER_01: Valleloup.
52:42
SPEAKER_01: Valalamapupia versus Pokensega.
52:47
SPEAKER_01: Pokensega is just a regional fighter.
52:50
SPEAKER_01: He doesn't, to me, scream of traits of a world-class guy.
52:56
SPEAKER_01: He's just a very remedial fighter, like fighting in a very small pool of talent.
53:02
SPEAKER_01: Valalamapupia.
53:05
SPEAKER_01: He's a fighter that I'm more fascinated in.
53:07
SPEAKER_01: He has no jab.
53:08
SPEAKER_01: He doesn't really have classical training.
53:10
SPEAKER_01: But the thing that's interesting about him is he has reflexes and he'll break off
53:14
SPEAKER_01: of punches and he counter punches.
53:16
SPEAKER_01: So I would greatly favor Van La La La Lupia.
53:21
SPEAKER_01: In that fight, because he at least has something that looks next level.
53:26
SPEAKER_01: Can he get to the next level?
53:27
SPEAKER_01: Probably not.
53:28
SPEAKER_01: Are these guys going to the top?
53:30
SPEAKER_01: No.
53:30
SPEAKER_01: But for their region, it's probably a lot of fun.
53:32
SPEAKER_01: And maybe they can make it to an undercard.
53:34
SPEAKER_01: But they probably don't have the talents to even compete with anyone at
53:38
SPEAKER_01: a high level just yet or ever.
53:41
SPEAKER_01: But that's fine.
53:44
SPEAKER_01: Breakdown Louis O'Doherty.
53:47
SPEAKER_01: Against Michael Gomez Jr. Now, this is a weird one, right?
53:51
SPEAKER_01: Somebody let me know because once again, I'm not going through the records.
53:54
SPEAKER_01: I'm watching the tape, right?
53:55
SPEAKER_01: Because the tape doesn't lie.
53:57
SPEAKER_01: You look at the records and you start telling your things.
54:00
SPEAKER_01: Louie O'Doherty is very hittable, very upright.
54:03
SPEAKER_01: I don't see elite power.
54:05
SPEAKER_01: I don't really see it with him.
54:07
SPEAKER_01: And I'd imagine given like kind of the tape I watched on him,
54:13
SPEAKER_01: That he's being brought up as a prospect.
54:15
SPEAKER_01: I believe he has an undefeated record.
54:18
SPEAKER_01: This is a big step up with Michael Gomez Jr. Gomez...
54:21
SPEAKER_01: Has a lot of attributes that could trouble O'Doherty unless there's something I'm missing.
54:26
SPEAKER_01: For starters, O'Doherty's jab is not that great.
54:31
SPEAKER_01: It's not quick.
54:32
SPEAKER_01: It doesn't get off quick.
54:33
SPEAKER_01: Whereas Gomez Jr. has a quick snappy jab and he's able to combination punch.
54:38
SPEAKER_01: O'Doherty kind of just puts one shot together and he tends to not transition offense
54:43
SPEAKER_01: into defense and defense into offense.
54:45
SPEAKER_01: And any longtime listeners in my show know that I love that.
54:50
SPEAKER_01: I love the transitioning and ability of those two things.
54:54
SPEAKER_01: So that's a really, really big thing with me.
54:59
SPEAKER_01: So I look at this and I see with Gomez Jr.,
55:03
SPEAKER_01: I see a guy who has elite attributes, but he's held back by slow feet.
55:08
SPEAKER_01: And then with Louie O'Doherty,
55:10
SPEAKER_01: I see someone who's very limited,
55:12
SPEAKER_01: very hittable,
55:12
SPEAKER_01: very upright, who has to really make a jump in talent to beat a guy of Gomez.
55:18
SPEAKER_01: I think Gomez right now sits at a gatekeeper.
55:21
SPEAKER_01: O'Doherty is a regional prospect that I'm not sure can get beyond that point.
55:25
SPEAKER_01: Let me know because I don't have the narratives behind these fighters.
55:29
SPEAKER_01: I don't know the backstories as much.
55:31
SPEAKER_01: I'm a U.S.-based guy.
55:32
SPEAKER_01: But this is what I'm I'm just telling you that.
55:36
SPEAKER_01: Next one is David Picasso versus Carl James Martin.
55:40
SPEAKER_01: Martin said the fight is happening at a featherweight.
55:43
SPEAKER_01: This screams of take me down to Head Clash City.
55:46
SPEAKER_01: A little GNR right there for you.
55:49
SPEAKER_01: David Picasso, it's no secret what he's going to do.
55:51
SPEAKER_01: He's going to come forward.
55:52
SPEAKER_01: He had a kind of a, what I'd say is a carefully matched career to get him into big fights.
55:58
SPEAKER_01: I think he fought Azat Hovnisian and it was a very, very close fight.
56:02
SPEAKER_01: His name is listed.
56:06
SPEAKER_01: He fights Neo Inouye last December,
56:10
SPEAKER_01: and I think the big takeaway is,
56:11
SPEAKER_01: man, he's tough, which is a really great takeaway, right?
56:14
SPEAKER_01: But it also speaks to a skill level that we weren't left with.
56:18
SPEAKER_01: Oh man, this guy's dangerous.
56:20
SPEAKER_01: This guy does this.
56:21
SPEAKER_01: It's more so he takes a good punch and he won't quit.
56:25
SPEAKER_01: Meet Carl James Martin, a rugged physical fighter who kind of possesses the same traits.
56:32
SPEAKER_01: He looks like he could punch.
56:34
SPEAKER_01: This looks like a head clash,
56:36
SPEAKER_01: back and forth,
56:37
SPEAKER_01: barn burner, physical fight where anything is in play, if you ask me.
56:43
SPEAKER_01: Um...
56:44
SPEAKER_01: I don't really think you can pick a fight like this because both guys,
56:49
SPEAKER_01: despite their record, are pretty unproven at this point.
56:53
SPEAKER_01: So you're putting in two guys who are rather unproven and just letting the chips fly.
56:59
SPEAKER_01: Here's a fight I'm pretty interested in.
57:01
SPEAKER_01: It's Steven Navarro versus Emmanuel Moreno.
57:07
SPEAKER_01: And this is a TV opener where Moreno is signed to Red Owl Boxing.
57:12
SPEAKER_01: Steven Navarro is with top rank.
57:15
SPEAKER_01: And Moreno is undefeated.
57:17
SPEAKER_01: Now, you look at Moreno's record.
57:19
SPEAKER_01: It's mostly hand-selected opposition, but he does have a win over Khalid Zuboff.
57:24
SPEAKER_01: Tawadi at the Red Owl Boxing Arena in 2025.
57:27
SPEAKER_01: It's an undefeated fighter.
57:30
SPEAKER_01: He has a win over Ira Terry, a good veteran.
57:32
SPEAKER_01: He's fought the good veterans to establish your career.
57:35
SPEAKER_01: Then you jump over to the amateur boxing side,
57:39
SPEAKER_01: and it's like, look, you see all the things you want to see.
57:42
SPEAKER_01: National Championship competed there.
57:44
SPEAKER_01: You know, he's fighting them.
57:46
SPEAKER_01: Oh, when you go to the amateurs, what do you see?
57:49
SPEAKER_01: Split decision loss in Shreveport, Louisiana to Steven Navarro.
57:52
SPEAKER_01: They got history in the amateurs.
57:54
SPEAKER_01: He holds a win over Samuel Contreras.
57:57
SPEAKER_01: He fought Emilio Garcia.
57:59
SPEAKER_01: He holds a win over Philip Vela.
58:01
SPEAKER_01: He's a real guy.
58:02
SPEAKER_01: He has a win over Patrick O'Connor.
58:04
SPEAKER_01: He's a real guy.
58:05
SPEAKER_01: What's the other thing about Navarro?
58:07
SPEAKER_01: I'm as high as anyone on Navarro,
58:08
SPEAKER_01: but the problem with Navarro is sometimes he takes head clashes.
58:12
SPEAKER_01: Sometimes he takes damage and he absorbs shots, right?
58:15
SPEAKER_01: So to me, this is a really great TV fight.
58:19
SPEAKER_01: It's another big physical fight for Navarro,
58:21
SPEAKER_01: who kind of got an unjust loss early in his career off television last year.
58:27
SPEAKER_01: And this is a chance for him to...
58:30
SPEAKER_01: He gets himself in the title picture and he's taking what I was talking about.
58:34
SPEAKER_01: I don't even think I talked about it on this version because I talked about it in
58:36
SPEAKER_01: the previous podcast version that doesn't exist where I was talking about how
58:41
SPEAKER_01: to develop a fighter.
58:45
SPEAKER_01: He takes a fight with a 50-50 type opposition prospect.
58:48
SPEAKER_01: And then at 16-0, they fight a fellow contender to graduate into being a title challenger.
58:54
SPEAKER_01: And this feels like that moment.
58:56
SPEAKER_01: So I love the confidence on both sides.
58:58
SPEAKER_01: I think this is going to be a high emotion fight.
59:00
SPEAKER_01: Navarro obviously has more ability, in my opinion.
59:04
SPEAKER_01: He won more national titles.
59:05
SPEAKER_01: When I see him, he's more dynamic and he can do more things.
59:08
SPEAKER_01: But he has a habit of sometimes getting hit that I didn't expect to see in the pros,
59:13
SPEAKER_01: which I hope he evolves from.
59:15
SPEAKER_01: And he wears the damage on his face at times.
59:18
SPEAKER_01: Not as familiar with Moreno, but that amateur experience does cause me some fear.
59:23
SPEAKER_01: So I'm going to advise everybody to watch this fight.
59:26
SPEAKER_01: Now, let's preview this.
59:28
SPEAKER_01: Giorgio Vassoli versus Maxi Hughes.
59:31
SPEAKER_01: Vassoli is one of these guys that I see potentially being a world champion.
59:36
SPEAKER_01: He has all the traits of that.
59:37
SPEAKER_01: He's slick.
59:38
SPEAKER_01: He's smart.
59:39
SPEAKER_01: He's capable.
59:40
SPEAKER_01: Slower year.
59:41
SPEAKER_01: He's like this year's Jayapitaya.
59:44
SPEAKER_01: Maxi Hughes,
59:45
SPEAKER_01: it feels like he's hit gatekeeper status,
59:48
SPEAKER_01: but if you really look at his record, he hasn't really had that bad loss.
59:52
SPEAKER_01: And whenever you think he's done, he reinvents himself and wins like with Gary Culley.
59:56
SPEAKER_01: Now he is,
59:57
SPEAKER_01: I believe,
59:57
SPEAKER_01: on a two-fight losing streak, but this is like that professional test for Vizzoli.
1:00:02
SPEAKER_01: Vizzoli's beaten those guys.
1:00:05
SPEAKER_01: In like what I'd call 80-20, 70-30 fights.
1:00:08
SPEAKER_01: Now he's entering a 60-40 fight.
1:00:10
SPEAKER_01: He's got youth and physical advantages over Maxi Hughes.
1:00:14
SPEAKER_01: But Maxi Hughes has veteran craft and experience.
1:00:17
SPEAKER_01: And this is one where Vassoli is going to have to prove his mettle.
1:00:21
SPEAKER_01: For how good he is of a fighter and if he's able to compete at the highest level.
1:00:26
SPEAKER_01: Now let's talk about Bechtar Jolioff versus Solomon Dakariz.
1:00:30
SPEAKER_01: I talk about how sometimes I read the Bad Left Hook fight schedule with John Hansen
1:00:35
SPEAKER_01: and he's a funny writer.
1:00:36
SPEAKER_01: And one of the things he wrote about is like the fear you have when you see Bekdyr Jolioff.
1:00:42
SPEAKER_01: And it's 2026.
1:00:43
SPEAKER_01: And you know, in 2028, it's going to be the US Olympic Games in LA.
1:00:48
SPEAKER_01: And you know, he's a two time Olympic gold medalist.
1:00:50
SPEAKER_01: To me, Jolioff He's just a professional amateur at this point.
1:00:54
SPEAKER_01: He'll never convert to a pro style.
1:00:57
SPEAKER_01: He has a lot of talent, but he gets in this habit of just throwing one punch at a time.
1:01:02
SPEAKER_01: He can land big punches, but it's just he's...
1:01:06
SPEAKER_01: He's slow, goofy, and fights get weird with him.
1:01:11
SPEAKER_01: Solomon Dakariz is kind of the same thing.
1:01:13
SPEAKER_01: He beat Vlanslava Sorinko,
1:01:17
SPEAKER_01: but that was also kind of a goofy heavyweight fight between two guys
1:01:21
SPEAKER_01: where Dakariz was able to win by being a little bit more elusive, movement-like.
1:01:26
SPEAKER_01: And you also throwing one punch at a time.
1:01:30
SPEAKER_01: I would not be shocked if this is a terrible fight.
1:01:32
SPEAKER_01: This screams of a you go, I go, very slow, 100 punches for the total fight co-feature.
1:01:40
SPEAKER_01: That's my thoughts on this.
1:01:41
SPEAKER_01: Now, Nelson Burchill versus Levi Giles honestly is like the fight
1:01:45
SPEAKER_01: that I probably am sitting here for.
1:01:48
SPEAKER_01: I didn't know a thing about Levi Giles.
1:01:50
SPEAKER_01: And Levi Giles, to me, puts himself on the ropes too willingly.
1:01:53
SPEAKER_01: So we got to remember that.
1:01:55
SPEAKER_01: And I don't love that.
1:01:58
SPEAKER_01: But he keeps an active jab and he has movement.
1:02:01
SPEAKER_01: Nelson Burchill is the exact opposite.
1:02:03
SPEAKER_01: High guard walks forward.
1:02:05
SPEAKER_01: Come on, laddie, I'm going to make you hit me.
1:02:08
SPEAKER_01: But he gets hit clean and he's not as keen on just basic defensive awareness,
1:02:13
SPEAKER_01: distance, and craft.
1:02:15
SPEAKER_01: Giles has had some competitive fights and given guys trouble.
1:02:20
SPEAKER_01: I think that I thought Nelson Burchill was a better fighter when I read his name
1:02:25
SPEAKER_01: than the tape I saw was.
1:02:27
SPEAKER_01: I think he's kind of a one-dimensional pressure fighter right now that I hope
1:02:31
SPEAKER_01: in this fight he shows more elements of his style.
1:02:35
SPEAKER_01: Because Levi Giles,
1:02:36
SPEAKER_01: I wouldn't say is a great fighter,
1:02:38
SPEAKER_01: but he's able to To do things that force you to show everything you can do
1:02:43
SPEAKER_01: because he's a capable operator and a tricky mover in the ring.
1:02:47
SPEAKER_01: I'm excited for that one.
1:02:48
SPEAKER_01: And then there's this crazy matchup between Diok no Yoon and Yito Murawaka.
1:02:55
SPEAKER_01: Murawaka is a decorated Japanese amateur who competed in the Tokyo Olympics.
1:03:01
SPEAKER_01: His entire pro boxing career is basically Yoon.
1:03:04
SPEAKER_01: And then they link me to his career where three of his four fights are against Diok No Yoon.
1:03:15
SPEAKER_01: And when I watch this...
1:03:18
SPEAKER_01: Three of his four fights are there, and he recently got stopped by Yoon in their trilogy bout.
1:03:25
SPEAKER_01: They fought three times.
1:03:27
SPEAKER_01: One was a technical draw, one was a split decision loss, and now he's lost.
1:03:31
SPEAKER_01: The thing about Murawaka, this is just a wild story, and thank you for sharing this.
1:03:36
SPEAKER_01: Murawaka kind of has all the things I dislike as a super middleweight fighter.
1:03:41
SPEAKER_01: He's a good amateur where he's very upright,
1:03:43
SPEAKER_01: doesn't leverage his legs, kind of punches, doesn't get off the line, gets hit.
1:03:49
SPEAKER_01: You can see why he was a good amateur and it shows why when people say,
1:03:53
SPEAKER_01: oh, he can box because he was a good amateur.
1:03:56
SPEAKER_01: There's some people who are successful amateurs that can get the job done
1:04:00
SPEAKER_01: by either being avoidant or just throwing punches that don't convert to pro boxing.
1:04:06
SPEAKER_01: And Murawaka is a perfect example of this.
1:04:09
SPEAKER_01: And seeing this where three of his four pro fights are against the same guy speaks to that.
1:04:16
SPEAKER_01: Good find.
1:04:17
SPEAKER_01: Okay, guys, that is your once a week podcast this week.
1:04:20
SPEAKER_01: It's a little shorter than the original one, but I think it's probably a little bit better.
1:04:23
SPEAKER_01: Talk to you later in the week.