Murat Gassiev's Highleet Reel KO Against Jordan Shimmell: GIF Spotlight

PBC and FS1 delivered a card in May of 2016 where then 22-0 prospect Murat Gassiev took on fellow prospect 20-1 Jordan Shimmell. While a good match on paper, it wasn't particularly competitive.

Gassiev KO1 Shimmell. Gassiev is now looking to try and unify all the major cruiserweight claims to the championship against Oleksandr Usyk, with his reputation as a puncher proving more and more weighty as he goes. Jordan Shimmell hasn't fought since this match.


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Quick Tillis Got Iron Mike's Respect: Quote Spotlight

In August of 2014, Mike Tyson sat in on FS1's broadcast of Sammy Vazquez VS James Stevenson, as commentator and Vazquez representative. During the fourth round, Mike had an interesting exchange where he gave his old opponent, James Tillis, some props for damage done.

In text: 

Raul Marquez:
"Mike, were you ever hurt by body shots in your career?"


Mike Tyson:


"Absolutely- James Tillis. When I fought James Tillis-When I fought James Tillis, oh, man, I couldn't even move. I went straight from the fight right to the bedroom."

This was the twentieth fight of Mike's career, and Tillis was the very first to take him the distance. It was scheduled for 10. 


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Shane Mosley On Manny Pacquiao's Physical Strength: Quote Spotlight

In a nice little interview with Mike Hill, airing on Fox Sports Live, Shane Mosley, Zab Judah and Paulie Malignaggi spoke of the upcoming Mayweather/Pacquiao fight. Though Mosley spoke highly in the past of Pacquiao's punching power, he had something interesting to say about Manny's total body strength.

Shane Mosley:

"Manny, like Paulie was saying, is not physically-He doesn't feel physically that strong. So, you can kind of get misrepresentation of the way he punches. Because he's not really that physically strong, but, when he does hit, you feel the impact. So, that can make Floyd have false sense of security, thinking he can walk in, maybe, and just take his shots. And, that's the only way Manny can get to Floyd. I don't think there's any other way. "

This is very interesting to me, because A. Erik Morales, in his "Best I've Faced" interview with Ring magazine, listed Pacquiao NOT as the best puncher he faced (Junior Jones, he says, gets this honour) but as the physically strongest he'd faced and B. Because total body physical strength in the boxing ring is sometimes very far apart from punching power or punching effectiveness. Erik Morales had said, actually, that many guys who look muscular in the ring are simply not that physically strong. Many people say that often the most muscular looking fighters are surprisingly not particularly good punchers either. Sometimes, it's all just a mystery and it leaves many interesting quotes trying to describe and explain it all.

For the Ring magazine article referenced, click through here: Erik Morales: Best I've Faced



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You Can't Judge A Boxer By Looking At The Cover: Quote Spotlight, With Paulie Malignaggi

Last month, Paulie Malignaggi sat in as FS1 commentator for former opponent Pablo Cesar Cano's match with Juan Carlos Abreu (not to be confused with Abregu). During round three, fellow commentator Brian Custer takes a turn with Paulie over Cano's decidedly deceptive appearance. Paulie backs up the common sentiment that he is definitely a strong puncher. Malignaggi also touches on his observations of standard Mexican physiques and boxer physique in general with these statements:
  
". . .A lot of the Mexican fighters, you know, they don't come in muscular, but, at the same time, you know, they're still strong.

. . .You can't let the lack of muscular physique fool you. Because it doesn't necessarily mean punching power. It doesn't necessarily translate to punching power, or lack of it."


We've all seen the soft, and/or scrawny fighters come in and demonstrate shocking punching power, or surprisingly show they won't be pushed around by stockier men, and we've all seen those fighters who look like Mr. Universe contestants who don't seem capable of cracking an egg or particularly strong in a clinch or regularly getting pushed back by stick figure types. It seems there's always a reminder in just about any walk of life that you never have any idea what a person is by looking at them. I know there's a Cosby reference in here somewhere but probably best leave it alone.



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KeAndre Gibson VS Nelson Lara: What is war good for?

Let's catch up on the FS1 broadcast from Golden Boy from the 26th. The war was good for. . .some entertainment and paying some bills, I suppose. But I don't think it was that good for Gibson.

The setup: 

Gibson: KeAndre Gibson was talked up plenty as a hot prospect, commentators in attendance are Paulie Malignaggi and Brian Custer. Malignaggi and Custer mark Gibson as a former sparring partner of Mike Jones, Canelo Alvarez for his match with Floyd Mayweather Junior, Devon Alexander for his match with Amir Khan and for Malignaggi himself. So, the man's gotten a lot of good work in the gym. Paulie says he has very fast hands, is a solid boxer, is more of an outside fighter, so he'll be looking to keep the smaller Lara on the outside, basically. Brian Custer calls him a "prize prospect" and says former Olympic boxing coach Kenny Adams, who has had at least somewhat of a hand in training a lot of talented fighters, including Diego Corrales and Johnny Tapia, is now training Gibson. Custer quotes Adams as saying KeAndre is one of the best prospects he's ever. This is quite a compliment to live up to.

Gibson is an undefeated St. Louis prospect, fighting at 140-147, with massive shoulders and muscular physique. He looks like a man who could knock a house over, but he comes in with only 5 knockouts in 13 contests. You tend to think if a guy can punch all that hard his opening 10-15 fights will showcase that. With punching power, looks can often be deceiving. 

Lara: Nelson Lara is a gritty Nicaraguan journeyman who's been stopped by Fidel Maldonado Junior, Juan Ruiz, Alberto Mosquera and Ali Chebah. He comes in with a 15-6-4 record and he is set up for an assumed defeat on FS1. I don't say this to be dismissive because he's taken most of his losses to prospects like Gibson, but he's also taken defeats and draws to other journeymen as well. So, he isn't regarded as a gatekeeping type of journeyman. But he is gritty and there's nothing wrong with the matchmaking, all things considered.

The action:

As talked up as Gibson was, he elected to stand toe-to-toe with a Lara who seemed to decide very early and admirably that he would go out on his shield if he went out at all. And he didn't go out at all. He took a tremendous amount of punches and landed enough to show Gibson his tactics were somewhat baffling. While Gibson decisively took his decision, and while he performed for the crowd in a way we should appreciate, he helped Lara make a hard night's work for both of them.

I'd be concerned about Gibson's jab being underutilised. Paulie said KeAndre was an outside fighter, but this whole fight seemed to be directly dictated by him choosing a phone-booth affair. Gibson looked to do his best to force a stoppage in the final few rounds but at no time did he show the stopping power in his punches that he'd need to finish the determined Lara. KeAndre Gibson wide UD8 Nelson Lara. Gibson was cut slightly on his left eye, if I'm not mistaken. Lara was marked up and swelling under the right eye but nothing too dramatic looking. That's the damage report. FS1's punch count had them throwing a combined 1,367 punches over the 8 rounds. They put on a good show. Of course, Gibson threw less and landed more in most every exchange but to quote Paulie Malignaggi: "The score cards may not reflect the competitiveness of Lara in each round." It was a real fight, forgetting the assumed outcome.


What it means to me: 

For KeAndre Gibson: He is good entertainment and you can't knock him for that, but as a prospect, he's just not a hot one. Based on his performance with Lara, I find it hard to believe he would be able to match any of the top ten fighters at Light Welterweight or Welterweight in the near future. Not fighting like that. He's getting good work in the gym. He's getting rounds in as a pro, but he's not putting anyone on notice by doing this. I wouldn't mind seeing him back on television a bit. I enjoyed his fight. But, if I were a betting man, I'd not be betting on Gibson. I mean no offense. The ring generalship just isn't showing to me. If "The Sugar Kid" was a little sweeter to himself, I'd have more faith in his becoming a contender.

Paulie Malignaggi: "A guy like this has too much talent to be fighting as much as he does."

For Nelson Lara: He's a true fighter, and there's no shame in having an up-and-comer in with him. He takes his shots and makes the best of it. Every fighter needs some Nelson Laras in their way. He's a necessary type of fighter and commands some respect for his place in the sport.

For FS1: A very nice opening pick for the fans. Thumbs up on the result.




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Eric Hunter VS Rene Alvarado: A Mayweatheresque Performance

The Setup:

With fellow Philly fighter Bernard Hopkins in attendance at Philly's 2300 Arena, looking to be fresh off the set of a new Dos Equis commercial where he is The Most Interesting Man in the World 2.0, the 20-3 Featherweight/Super Featherweight prospect Eric Hunter matches the slow and steady Nicaraguan Super Featherweight Rene Alvarado, 21-3, with no losses by stoppage. Hunter's three losses are perhaps rather surprisingly comprised of one early split-decision in 2007 and two disqualifications, coming in 2010 and 2013. None of these losses are to fighters of much name, but he did beat then-unbeaten Jerry Belmontes, notably. Alvarado takes one of his losses by popular perennial contender Rocky Juarez. They meet at Featherweight. This is a co-main event, together with Michael Perez VS Miguel Acosta preceding it. It's a good, solid card from FS1. Cheers to them for that.

The Action:

When you get a young fighter on the rise like this with Eric Hunter's style, there's always a danger that they lose focus, get too comfortable, get lazy, and open the door for someone much less talented to get into the fight, gain confidence and start to pickup momentum. Eric Hunter did what you hope any fighter with that style can do and he showed the kind of focus a champion would. While he never displayed the type of power he would seem to need to put Alvarado away, he shut him down, never opened a door for him to barge in and never even seemed to give him one moment that would've given hope he could turn the tide.

Hunter was way-too-good for him. Alvarado was shown at every turn that he was out of his depth. He tried, he didn't back down, he was a fighter, but the difference in class was immense. The records on paper, their numbers, they show similar levels, but when you see them together in the ring, it's like watching Picasso and your 4-year-old son trying to paint the same picture. That's not to try and oversell you on Hunter, but that really did appear to be the gap in talent. Check hooks, counter straight right hands off of the shoulder roll, switch-hitting, he put on a clinic tonight. His defense was incredibly sharp.

For fighters yet to get a major world title attached to their name, I don't know as there are any you will see with more polished or consistent defense than what Hunter showed tonight. The true show of class for Hunter's style was when Alvarado took his chances, he paid for it far more than Hunter did. Eric "The Outlaw" Hunter dominant UD10 Rene Alvarado, who took home a pretty decent cut above the right eye, for whatever other troubles he had in his damage report. I didn't give Alvarado a round and I didn't see any that would fairly go to him either.

What it means to me:

Frankly, I have little idea of Mr. Hunter's previous troubles, his disqualifications, but I would like to see him back on the air and putting on these performances. As far as I'm concerned, he was the performer of the night. This was an old school pleasure. I have to say I consider him someone to be taken seriously in either the Featherweight or Super Featherweight division. Jhonny Gonzalez has a lot of names to choose from, but Hunter would certainly be a match to respect if it happens. For Alvarado, you can't say much. He gave it a good shot and he didn't look to belong at this level. No shame but no sugarcoating.




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Alfonso Gomez VS Ed Paredes: Gomez is the real crafty veteran here.

The setup: 

Alfonso Gomez comes into this fight having been a name fighter for about a decade. He has a rare distinction in that when I look at his record, I see more of his fights taking place against names I know than names I don't. Even for the sport's biggest fans, most records have far more "padding" full of people you won't remember than Gomez's. He may have entered with just over thirty professional fights. But those fights are jam-packed with names like Arturo Gatti, Miguel Cotto and Saul Alvarez. His first recognisable opponent as a professional, then-future world titlist Ishe Smith in his second fight. His career may not be legendary but it has been notable. Make no mistake about that. As it has been a full career, his body has taken a full career's worth of wear and tear. He's taken a few days shy of two years off to heal himself of injuries. He is not a young 33, Gomez. He comes off not only the layoff but two straight losses.

Meanwhile, his opponent, Ed Paredes, coming off a win streak, rather than a loss streak, has more professional fights, less losses and more recent activity. But very little of note happening in this history. It is implied by Gomez that the experience will be the key. Paredes doesn't thinks so, citing his impressive sparring experience against Erislandy Lara, Luis Collazo and Zab Judah.

The action:


It was not one punch that Paredes was open to or one tactic that Gomez employed against him. It was everything. Maybe not just everything that he did but everything he's done as a pro. While one of the best referees of my lifetime (Kenny Bayless) made not one but two official knockdown calls that were, upon instant replay review, very weak knockdowns that I feel he would not have called if he'd seen them clearly, Gomez stayed cool through it all. Both of those KD's were likely as much follow-through on his own punches pulling him down as anything you could credit to Paredes. Paredes was not without his moments and found a lot of nice left hooks with Gomez coming in but overall he was in over his head with the far savvier Gomez. Paulie Malignaggi, working as Fox commentator, said that Paredes was using a lazy approach to this fight. Was he right? Well, Paredes was so outsmarted that perhaps it is questionable whether he was being lazy in being outworked or too baffled to do much more than he did. It did look to me that it very well was a bit of both. When all is said and done, I think Gomez was right about the experience being a major factor. Gomez earned a very just UD10 over Paredes.

What it means: 

I think this demonstrates that Paredes simply isn't world class, or ready to prove he is by a long shot, and Gomez is still proving only one cut below that kind of recognition for now. Oddly, he can look to former opponent Ishe Smith. Because he could end up doing exactly as Smith did and coming up just shy until very late in the game and snatching a major world title for a brief time. It's very, very possible. Gomez is just that kind of fighter to keep working and taking risks until finally he gets that special payoff so many are working for. FS1 put on, overall, an excellent fight card, this ninth of July. That's what it means for each fighter and the broadcasting channel, as far as I can tell. But what it means to boxing might just be yet another embarrassing couple of instances that demonstrate the stupidity of not taking full advantage of instant replay, just like other major sports would. Kenny Bayless, again, arguably the best single referee in the sport right now, even he can miss calls like this. But it doesn't have to be that way. It could've been easily corrected.




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JoJo Diaz VS Ramiro Robles: Prospect WAR!

The Setup:

On the ninth of July, 2012 Olympian and Super Bantamweight prospect JoJo Diaz takes on significantly less hot Mexican Bantamweight prospect but statistically near-identical Ramiro Robles, at almost the same height, weight, age, reach and record. Diaz, with only eleven professional fights is coming off a UD over former world title challenger and current gatekeeper, at most, Luis Maldonado. Diaz is yet another prospect who is being closely followed in hopes of being a star. Just as the previous match on this card had notoriously shameful referee Russell Mora, this match has notoriously respected and likely top three regarded referee in the sport, Tony Weeks, who hasn't refereed since Mayweather/Maidana. Also noteworthy-both men are southpaws. Two southpaw prospects!



The Action:

This match turns into what was rightly a widely scored match in Diaz's favour, and yet, it was as good as any rightfully widely scored fight is ever going to be. In round one, Diaz seems to smell blood in the wrong place and unleashes on Robles as if he thinks he can blow him out early but he's not even close. Robles is fine, though did eat an awful lot of Diaz's assault. This is a tough guy, Robles, and he seems unintimidated from the get-go. It isn't a slow build to confidence. He is looking secure in what he can do from round one. Commentator Paulie Malignaggi is bang-on, as far as I can tell, in his assessment that Diaz is definitely the more gifted fighter, but while Robles doesn't have the ability to hang with him, athletically, from the outside, Diaz mostly allows for inside fighting when he's putting those fan-friendly combos together. And Robles mostly had an ability to answer for every combination he ate.


Diaz fires these great left uppercut/right hook combos and full-bodied hooks to the body, left and right. He's an excellent, diverse offensive fighter. The only thing missing is a well-timed jab in this match. Aside from the range giving Robles his best chance in the fight, Diaz blocks more, lands more, gets off faster, lands sharper, and counters better throughout the fight. It's a battle, it's hard-fought competition, but it's still a class difference. If there is a criticism on Diaz, it's that for the high level of talent, he didn't show the ring generalship to fully control a fight that maybe he could have controlled with different strategy. With more commitment to a jab, this may have been easier winning for JoJo. But that's not a guarantee, I suppose, and you cannot take away a thing from Robles, who is a warrior. His chin and his stamina are enviable.

Even though Robles is far from a good counter-puncher, as Malignaggi stated, he's ALWAYS there to answer back. He never lets Diaz run away with a round. I cannot state to you how important that is in the way this match played out. It could've been so easy to let Diaz move in and out and land his combinations out of discouragement, but while some fault is on Diaz for staying in for a reply, major props has to go to Robles for going after Diaz after every assault, as often as he could. He does not let the fight go, even with the gap in talent between the two. He keeps letting his hands go. He keeps committing to not being out-worked, even if he's out-skilled or out-sped. He never fought like a dejected opponent. He knew he was in it as long as he could land punches and he did, in each round, land something substantial. He was never broken and never put in a territory where it wasn't still competitive within the round. Really, this was war, no matter that one guy clearly got the better of it. By the penultimate round, Diaz had the bloody face to prove he didn't fight a pushover. 

It was not only impressive that the loser didn't get discouraged, but it was impressive that with such a determined guy that Diaz was so strongly favoured over, Diaz didn't get discouraged either. Lesser prospects would have had the wind taken out of their sails the first time they got this type of match with a genuinely hard man who refused to give in. Diaz UD10 Robles, and all on the up and up.



What it means: JoJo Diaz remains a hot prospect, got taken into deep waters in a way you want to see a prospect before they get a big shot in this sport. He passed with flying colours. I do feel there's a weakness there with his jab that he could work on but a very satisfying performer and hopeful prospect worthy of following. Robles puts himself on the map as a tough as nails, game as they get prospect. Both prove that they can go ten hard, grueling rounds. They have the heart, they have the conditioning, they have the mindset. Either of these guys should be welcome to future television cards. FS1 picks an excellent match and deserves credit for this one.





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Diego De La Hoya VS Miguel Tamayo: I wish his name were Victor

The set up:

Taking place on the ninth of July, DDLH weighed in just inside the Featherweight limit and Tamayo weighed in right at the Super Bantamweight limit, only two pounds official difference. We have Tamayo as the seasoned veteran journeyman, who has been in the ring with Gary Russell Junior in just his last fight. We have DDLH, who is being built as one of FS1's star prospects. Diego comes in having appeared the goods as a TV fighter, even if he doesn't hit the elite level. He's a fun prospect. His cousin, promoter and HOF fighter Oscar De La Hoya is in attendance for this match.

The action:

I cannot tell you how much I wish Diego's name were Victor, because "Vicious" is the adjective that I suspect will stick with his name. There are fighters with a good killer instinct and then there are vicious fighters. A good killer instinct is only knowing when you have hurt someone and can finish them and making good on that knowledge. But being vicious requires the willingness to kick into another gear until you can hurt a guy in the first place. A sense of urgency, a style where you take risks for the sole payoff of doing damage to your opponent. DDLH shows this viciousness the same as he had in the last fight I saw him in. He is risky, the way he lets go big punches in combination, early and often. He manages to be both risky and technically sound. He isn't reckless or unprofessionally impatient but he always tries to get his man hurt, right out of the gate, from the look of it. Against Tamayo, this is no different. He found big punches and put together hurtful combinations in round one. No real feel-out periods for Diego De La Hoya. He looks to chin-check his man as soon as possible with something big.

There wasn't much to the fight on Tamayo's behalf. Not for lack of trying. Tamayo came out looking like he wanted to convey the sentiment of "Hey, kid. Whatever you've got, I've seen it." and Tamayo has been in with some serious men who can hit, like Cesar Seda, with whom he went the distance. The way DDLH moves shows his high class as an athlete. His footwork is very good and he uses movement consistently. He's not all aggression. There's craft to this young man. In round three, DDLH seems to openly shove Tamayo to the ground. He's knocking Tamayo's head back with uppercuts and even jabs. Tamayo is firing with dedication but he's not at all sharp by comparison. By this third round, DDLH is knocking Tamayo around, stumbling, off balance, taking heavy leather to the body too. He's not reacting the same way to punches in this round. He's already been a little broken down, early as it is.

Round four saw another round of punches in bunches from DDLH, who has hurtful combinations, not shoe-shining combinations. Tamayo fires wide and slow combinations. Tamayo gets turned and turned as he sends telegraph after telegraph of what he wants to do. There is too much of a deficit of hand and foot speed with this young gun for Tamayo to overcome.

I like when DDLH fires a one-two-three, jab, straight right, left uppercut. That uppercut at the end is some kind of nastiness and expertly timed. About a minute left in the fifth and DDLH lands a huge straight right on Tamayo with a dramatic head snapping effect and they trade as Tamayo goes to the ropes and takes the worst of it. Referee Russell Mora breaks them and DDLH drives Tamayo to the ropes again with another combination and yet another head snapping right lands big. Mora stops it. Some called it an early stoppage; I call it a perfect place for the old standing eight count rule to have been implemented, were it in effect. Tamayo raised his hands as if to say "Oh, come on!" but he wasn't ever really in the fight. I won't argue Russell Mora's call, despite knowing him for one of history's worst reffing jobs ever in Abner Mares VS Joseph Agbeko I. A black mark on sports history if ever there was one, Mora left that night. I can't help but mention it whenever Russell Mora shows his face. He is forever tainted as a professional referee because of it and I am disappointed any time he is given the chance to oversee any fight on television. 

What it means: Diego De La Hoya is still must-see TV. FS1 is smart to be following him and building him up as a draw. He brings a fight. For Tamayo? His stock slipped even as a journeyman, game as he is. You can only stay relevant, even as a relevant journeyman for so long when you take damage like that. It is not a place in the sport that lends itself to longevity. I don't know how much longer he can offer any real resistance to name fighters at even as early a stage as DDLH is at. FS1 gets a thumbs up for bringing Diego back but a thumbs down for allowing Russell Mora the privilege of any spotlight on their air. Channels don't have to have authority in picking referees to make very clear that they won't televise men like Mora and, of course, Laurence Cole, the notorious regular to HBO's Texas cards, who the commentators themselves have pointed out as one of the sport's worst. Thankfully, Mora didn't have much opportunity to turn in one of his disasters this time out.





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McWilliams Arroyo VS Froilan Saludar: Start Slow, End Fast, Win

The set up: 

Years removed from his lone loss and on a streak of three kayo victories in a row, Flyweight prospect McWilliams Arroyo comes to fight in front of his home country against undefeated Filipino prospect Froilan "The Sniper" Saludar. On the broadcast, it is said Saludar has never been down or in trouble. But, while he is nicknamed as a puncher and coming off an early knockout victory, interestingly, before that victory were four straight decision wins against unheralded opponents. This is curious, for a fighter who likes to punch in bunches and is said to only need one to put a man away. While it is not currently listed so on boxrec, commentator Danny Jacobs says this is an IBF eliminator of some sort.



The action:

A very strange first round as Arroyo, the hometown fighter, seems to have none of the fire and excitement his opponent has. He is dominated the first round and doesn't even seem particularly interested. Either he's a slow starter, something is wrong with him or Saludar has him baffled with his ranginess and speed. It was about a minute into the second when you got even the slightest sense of what was to come. A right hook to Saludar's body, left hook to his head lands hard. A combination that staggered Saludar just a bit. It's clear when Arroyo throws, he throws with bad intentions.

With about a minute to go, Saludar, fighting every bit like a Pacquiao fan, jumping in and out with quick combinations, eats a flush left hook from Arroyo, who probably understands how badly he's being outworked and is trying to land hard enough to give his man something to respect. He is at a speed disadvantage. He's trying to punch inside flurries coming at him. About 10 seconds later, the same punch lands and Saludar is laid out on his back, breathing the way a man breathes when he's been bulldozed. He tries but cannot recover. As they help him up he is disappointed but grinning a what-can-you-do grin.

Summary and meaning:

While he started slowly, Arroyo finished quickly. Wow. The power on display is impressive. I like Saludar and think he'd be welcomed onto another card soon. I don't think he can be written off as a hopeful yet. He started very well. Arroyo is now on a twelve-fight winning streak, stretching back to 2010. He's hot. Bring him back soon.



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Prichard Colon VS Carlos Garcia: FS1 Opens Show With Puerto Rican Showcase Match

The set up: 

With Felix Trinidad, recent Hall of Fame inductee, in attendance, supporting a young Puerto Rican, Light Middleweight prospect in Prichard Colon, FS1 put a terrible mismatch showcase fight on tonight. They dished up something that no one should have thought would be a good match on paper. This can be okay, when you have just started, in your opening matches, but considering Prichard's nine victories and victories only, I really didn't like this match for television. If I were managing him, I'd have liked that match just fine. But tuning in as a viewer, it left a sour taste in my mouth. Prichard Colon came to the ring with 9 knockout victories in 9 fights and his opponent is Carlos Garcia, a young Puerto Rican journeyman with a lot of experience but more losses than wins and having suffered six, count them, six knockout losses. Again, I just don't like this kind of fight being televised. Is it part of the business? Sure. There's nothing unusual here and I understand it's part of the sport but I don't think any of us tune into the live fights to see every grungy thing that's part and parcel of boxing careers. There should be a minimum allowable likelihood of risk in television matches and this one didn't meet the level I think that should be. Leave this type of match off of the broadcast cards, please, FS1.


The action and outcome:

How did Colon look against the predictably over-matched opponent? I thought he looked a little ponderous with his hand speed, fairly upright in his style, but professionally patient, and, most tellingly about him and the support for him, he looked brutally, punishingly heavy-handed. By the fifth round stoppage for Colon's tenth straight kayo win, it was hard to find a minute of the fight where Garcia didn't look to be hurting from what Colon had for him. I'd wager, despite having seemingly all the right guys to knockout, that Colon's power is very real and the reason he is being set up for a showcase on television like this.

What it means to me:

You fight who they put in front of you. I don't knock Colon for building his record like you are supposed to. This is a business as well as a sport and that's the business model. I do want to see Colon again, but with no less than a winning record journeyman at the least. He's definitely ready to step up his opposition. While it's tough to call this a test, Garcia was spirited and experienced if nothing else, so if it was a test, Colon passed with flying colours and is more than ready for tougher tests. For Garcia? Spirit alone cannot make up for his inability to hang at this level. No disrespect to his effort but I don't want to see Garcia back on these broadcasts getting smacked around by someone we know he shouldn't be in with. Sports should be sporting. This was taking advantage of a guy trying to earn a living more than sport, I think. Stamp it
"Not suitable for television," FS1.




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Tevin Farmer VS Emanuel Gonzalez: Farmer Dominates & Derails Opponent

The main event on FS1 this past week was Tevin Farmer VS Emanuel Gonzalez, a very fine match on paper between two Super Featherweight prospects. We've got an undefeated prospect in Gonzalez and a fighter who has a significant edge in professional rounds and quality of experience in Tevin Farmer. Farmer was far too slick, too quick, and too much of everything for Gonzalez except pure brute force. Farmer, with only three knockouts, may not have come particularly close to stopping Gonzalez, but make no mistake in that he had everything else over him.

Farmer is mentioned to have been sparring partners for both current Light Welterweight Champion of the World Danny Garcia and the intensely watched Featherweight prospect and former Olympic Gold Medalist Vasyl Lomachenko. He warned that his losses were while learning on the job and it certainly looks likely from the refined performance of this broadcast. He gave all the defensive and offensive angles that Gonzalez could handle in the few competitive moments and a lot more that he couldn't come close to handling throughout the fight. The score cards were rightfully wide. There were no adjustment to Farmer constantly popping his straight left down the pike on Gonzalez and Farmer, knowing that you don't fix broken things, enjoyed punching Gonzalez so much, in such a rhythm, even doubled and tripled his straight lefts at times with no price paid for this entertainment.

One of Farmer's three losses is to recent ESPN fighter, Poland's Super Featherweight prospect, Kamil Laszcyk. Separated by one weight class, coming through different recent TV channels but in the same circuit, as far not being on an HBO or Showtime level of prestige, maybe we'll see a rematch of these two, with their seasoning bringing intrigue. Both are 23 and seem very ready for a tougher test. I'd like to see both again. As far as Gonzalez is concerned, I'm not familiar with him and maybe he looks better against a different style of fighter. Against Farmer, however, he seemed lost. Trying, but lost.





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Daniel Martz VS Alexis Santos: The FS1 Disaster Of The Evening

Alexis Santos was in a spectacle tonight. Referee Leo Gerstel, for better or worse, is our referee for this match. Brian Custer and Danny Jacobs are our commentators. There was, of course, some kind of title on the line, of some sort.


So, round one begins:

1:34 remaining:

Santos seems to have hurt his ankle leaping into a left hook and squats down with a glove touch, with no knockdown called, rightfully. Martz goes after him and starts landing on the ropes, Santos covering up.

1:15 remaining:

Santos goes down, seemingly, again, not from Martz's attack but the assumed pain in his right ankle. Brian Custer and Danny Jacobs are both saying right ankle. This time, the referee gives him a count. He was getting hit on the ropes when he went down, though it looks to me like he's trying to hop on one foot just to remain upright when he goes down. In no way do I think punches forced him down but seeing that the punches were taking place when he went down, the referee's call here is not a problem to me just yet.

Martz is swarming Santos with body shots and mugging him, making vocal noises when he punches. Santos does finally attempt a big right hand but he's clearly having trouble just standing, let alone planting his feet to punch. The round ends Martz looking to use his body weight to back up the man that can barely stand to the ropes and lean on him a bit, after the bell is clear limping agony. I am thinking they might stop it in the corner. The referee is in plain view of this. All that's audible to me for sure is the cornerman asking "What do you want to do? Quit?"

Round 2:

At the very beginning of round two, with Martz charging to his target, Santos can't do anything but hobble backwards to the ropes, which probably held him up and bounced him back upright. Martz is openly shoving him back, bulling him into the ropes, because his man can't offer any resistance to it, heavily outweighed and with only one leg. It's smart tactics on his part if the referee allows it, but it's so blatant, a veteran ref should have him warned at that point. Santos can only throw a shot here and there, all his strength and concentration seems to be on keeping upright. Everytime Martz wants to back him up, it's easy work. Santos is talking to him. It looks like he's gesturing to his ankle, saying something to the effect of "I'm on one leg, is that all you can do to me?" That sort of thing. And, really, one wonders if that is all Martz can do with a man on one leg.

As Santos looks like he's finally getting his bearings back, Martz takes the opportunity to lean/push him down again and Santos gives way to the giant and goes to the ground. The referee rules it a slip, does NOT warn Martz that I can tell either. Santos is frustrated, and looks to push away the ref a bit to get back to work his near impossible task. The referee lets them go back to the fight. Santos tries to push into Martz, possibly with a deliberate attempt to butt him and Martz, in this ugly disaster, decides to again get his body weight on him and just walks the hobbling, hopping, one-legged fighter back into the corner as they embrace in a bear hug that is anything but affectionate.

Santos is clearly in agony and the referee breaks them. He sends Martz to the corner and walks Santos to his own corner to speak to the doctor. They continue. I don't know why. This is becoming pointless. I do understand letting a guy try and make the best of it to see if he can fight but it seems clear that he simply can't fight under these circumstances (how many guys could?) and if Martz where sharper he might have ended it by now but he's simply not good enough to take advantage with actual punches. He's only able to take advantage with leaning and pushing the crippled opponent.

This just isn't fighting, despite Santos' admirable efforts. Santos tries to even bounce a bit and keep the hope alive but missing a punch he slips to the canvas yet again at about 45 seconds left in the second round. If that isn't the final touch of obviousness to stop the match, I really don't know what is. But referee Leo Gerstel, mindbogglingly, just walks him to the corner for another check with the doctor and the "fight" continues on! 20 seconds left and Martz somehow can't end it any more than the referee can see that it's over. At the tail end of the third Santos misses an overhand right haymaker by an absolute mile and his ankle gives and he touches his glove to the canvas and hobbles back upright. Danny Jacobs says "Wow...interesting round." That is one way to describe this atrocity, Mr. Jacobs.

They go back to their corners and I here someone out there say "WHAT in the HELL...?" and I am right there with whoever said it. It looks like still the doctor and referee haven't elected to put an end to this. I think the corner tells Santos they're going to stop it and Santos says through any FS1 attempt at censorship "Don't you f**king dare!" but I think he knows where it's going. Danny Jacobs is with Santos on this, it seems. But when your job is to watch over your fighter, you cannot have that fighters' mentality that Jacobs and Santos seem to have about this. 'We talked about- he's got over 200 family and friends." Brian Custer adds to drive home why Santos might be so resistant to giving up on this situation. 

So, we head into the THIRD ROUND. I am astonished by this. Honestly, I am. Santos' attitude is admirable but there's a reason why fighters don't get allowed to fight on as they wish and the corner, the referee and the doctor can overrule them. There's a reason for that. If this had been against a more dangerous and savvy fighter than Martz, this could've been a tragedy. As this round starts Santos clutches onto Martz with his back to the ropes. Martz is still incapable of ending this. He's largely smothering himself trying to lean on Santos and punch at the same time. I fully believe if he gave himself room it'd be over by now. He could probably have ended this in the second round if he were another more powerful and technical giant prospect- Dominic Breazeale, for instance. 


Jessica Rosales comes on to tell us about the doctor's thoughts. The doctor had thoughts, I guess. Basically, he's said that as long as Santos can stand and see and wants to continue...which is where Brian Custer reminds us we've seen several instances where the standing part hasn't come off. Thank you, Brian. Danny Jacobs again affirms his support for the fight continuing. Jacobs seems both very genuine but very misguided on this, to me. I'm thinking Brian is more along with my line of thinking here. The fighters exchange at about a minute and thirty seconds to go and again Santos is pushed, hobbling backward on one leg. Martz is still smothering himself when he's trying to attack. Santos loses his footing again, but not falling, only going backward into the corner, hopping along. Martz is still inept while Santos is in the corner. This is a truly awful thing. Santos keeps dipping in pain and wincing. Santos waves Martz in and smiles at him. He's no more impressed y the big man than I am. The round ends. Thankfully. We've got a physically crippled fighter and a technically crippled fighter and neither of them is doing much fighting because of their handicaps.


The end: The fight is finally called as a corner retirement. Daniel "The Mountain" Martz celebrated as though he had actually won the fight on his own merits. I thought that was a fascinating reaction, if not outright distasteful. But I can understand being excited, even under those circumstances, I suppose. He really thinks he did something and the crowd really thinks not as they boo him in Santos' backyard. "Any victory's a good victory." Danny Jacobs says, kindly.




Summary: Daniel Martz has an awful lot of work to do if he wants to be a hot heavyweight prospect. I wouldn't mind FS1 getting him in with fellow mountainous heavyweight Dominic Breazeale, I'd add, as a speak-of-the-devil moment. Alexis Santos is a proud fighter. Leo Gerstel gets an F and that F stands for a bad word I said multiple times during his officiating job in this match. Despite what I consider poor officiating calls and a disaster event, on paper, this wasn't a bad pick for FS1.






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Jamie Kavanagh VS Michael Clark - Clark takes another knockout but gives good resistance

The commentators for the evening were both men who've fairly recently rebounded from cancer scares in triumph, middleweight contender Danny Jacobs and veteran broadcaster Brian Custer. FS1's opening match was a lightweight contest between Irish propsect Jamie Kavanagh and the type of veteran opponent you'd expect to see him against in technically sound but 40-year-old Michael Clark (former opponent of Artur Grigorian, Vivian Harris and Mike Alvarado, among others). Both fighters have trained at Wild Card Gym. Brian Custer says that Kavanagh has sparred a number of times with Manny Pacquiao.

The first round started hot for the typical feel out round. Joel Diaz, Kavanagh's trainer warns him not to telegraph his punches before the second round begins. Kavanagh is mentioned to have recently split with Freddie Roach and picked up with Diaz. He is also mentioned to be fluent in Spanish, having lived in Spain. Both men landed big in the second and third. Round four started seeing some more tying up and blunting of the action but it's not a boo-inducer.

Fifth and final round: Jacobs says if he's noticing correctly, he thinks both fighters appear to be cut. Possible head clash? Mid-round, Kavanagh lands a big left hook after committing to more body work as requested by Diaz. Clark wipes at his eye, Kavanagh appears to land a hard low blow left hook that stops the action. Right now the fight's unraveling with Clark bothered by the cut above the right eye, the low blow, getting tagged with flush power punches by the significantly younger man and toward the end of the round Clark goes down from one of Kavanagh's sneaky lead right hands. Now, pretty much everything is against Clark with the young prospect. He seems perfectly steady upon getting up and he could hang with the young man technically but Clark apparently said that was it and I think it was probably a judicious call, because he was in a hole now and he was very unlikely to climb back out. Like I said, he was in the match but seemed to unravel quickly. 

Summary: Kavanagh really is showing to be a nice TV fighter at this level, if not necessarily a future champion level of prospect. He's tough enough to bring good action and he's got a bit of craft to him. Clark, well, he works hard at a hard living he probably can't take part in for much longer but he's putting in the reasonable effort and didn't do himself any disservice, I don't think. He's still fulfilling the role of the kind of fighter you'd like to see a prospect in against before they take a step up with fresher fighters. Not a bad choice for FS1 on paper or in retrospect. It was good action from both men while it lasted.


Broadcast quote:

Danny Jacobs on Michael Clark:  "I had the pleasure of training with him out in Wild Card boxing gym with Freddie Roach and I seen him spar and I seen him fight. He's an excellent inside fighter so that's the fight that I want to see him fight tonight."




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Luis Ortiz: Yet Another Puzzling Cuban Heavyweight, And In Puzzling FS1 Choice

Cuban heavyweight prospect, Luis Ortiz, a tank of a man, to be sure, is 35-years-old, since March of this year. 35-years-old. He has been a professional fighter for over four years. He turned pro off of hundreds of amateur fights. It was just a few months shy of fourteen years ago when young Wladimir Klitschko, the current 38-year-old heavyweight champion of the world, beat up a 23-1 Monte Barrett. It was about seven years ago that now retired Nikolay Valuev stopped Barrett in their fight. It was about five years ago when David Haye, who could now be forced into retirement by a broken down shoulder, took Barrett out in what was commonly referred to as a lackluster campaign to get the best deal in a shot at Klitschko's world title. Barrett was then knocked out by Odlanier Solis and unanimously decisioned by Alexander Ustinov the following year. Three consecutive losses to prospects there. It was about two years ago when Barrett last fought, getting viciously knocked out by underdog Shane Cameron, and about three since he last won a fight, against what is hopefully a now finally retired David Tua.

This version of Monte Barrett, this is a big fight for Luis Ortiz, after four years as a professional. He's only three years younger than the current heavyweight champion, note it, who has been among the sport's longest reigning champions and thought to be nearing the end of the road himself. This, this was FS1's choice of a main event. An almost surefire mismatch for a heavyweight prospect that wasn't even slightly hot and whose fights are even an obscurity on youtube.com, let alone cable television. I am puzzled by both Ortiz's career and FS1's choice in main events. But, that said, I was still glad to see Ortiz's fight televised. I was. I think he's interesting. 

Is Luis Ortiz a much hyped prospect? Not at all. As I said, he lives in relative obscurity, even to boxing's fans, and even to boxing's hardcore heavyweight fans. Is he a no-hoper who hasn't shown enough skill to get noticed? Oh no. I think he's highly capable and could be-isn't yet, hasn't been-but could be an interesting part of the heavyweight landscape. Is he one of those purported to be too small for the "super" heayweights and too big for cruiserweight? Nope. He's a fullly-sized, made-to-order heavyweight, at 6'4 and 240ish pounds of pretty natural looking bulk, with a wide back and hips. No one is asking him what weight class he is in, I don't think. "The real King Kong" is not an ironic size nickname he's got.

So, why is Monte Barrett, albeit a former title challenger and very solid name, but at 42, inactive, many times decimated, a step up of any kind for Ortiz in the eyes of most? And why is Luis Ortiz known to so few? I don't have the answer. He is, yet another, Cuban heavyweight oddity. For Cuban oddity, he matches Odlanier Solis, another natural heavyweight, with an even finer amateur background, who has actually gotten the opportunities for big professional fights, and displayed some excellent skills. Solis? Can't seem to bring it all together for conditioning and determination. Ortiz? Again, he's just stepped up to a highly worn version of Monte Barrett. These careers do not reflect talent levels.

I honestly think a lot of these Cuban heavyweights with hundreds of amateur fights have simply burned out their competitive desires by the time they turn pro. I recall seeing Solis, in one of his earliest pro fights on television and thinking 'Is this really the guy I saw against David Haye in the amateurs?' and as I watch him now, against the likes of Tony Thompson, getting outworked by a fat man in his forties, I think 'Is this really the guy I saw against David Haye in the amateurs?' I hope Ortiz does not provide similar determination and dedication, should he get a reasonably big fight to test him.


What did he do with Barrett on his main event opportunity? He decisively had him out-gunned and out-skilled and took advantage, never looking like it was any more serious than you'd think it was. It doesn't mean that much at this stage but I must wonder why this got a serious television date and whether or not he's going to have a serious fight sometime soon. All fights are serious, but you know I mean seriously enough to be considered a world class of fight. Oh, if this had happened in late 2011, with Barret coming off of his Tua victory and Ortiz barely into his pro career, instead of four years into it, I could understand some intrigue in the match, I suppose, a little. Enough for a random main event on FS1, at least. But this left a bitter taste in my mouth, I suppose.

He stumbled and cut Barrett with a big left in the first round and you could tell by their body language what was likely. He stumbled Barrett in the second with another big left. Barrett seemed to take the punches better in the third. He took them just the same. He just reacted better and landed a few. In the fourth, Referee Raul Caiz Senior called the fight in an oddly quick way as Barrett looked in pain, going down to a knee, after taking a shot to the nose (I assumed it broke the nose immediately, the way it looked). I don't have much  problem with the stoppage, as I'm sure the referee knew Barrett was not taking the punches well from round one anyway. If he had a broken nose on top of that, what was likely to be gained by letting it continue?

So, for Ortiz: Good performance against an opponent that is almost certainly with one foot and three quarters of another foot out of the sport. But still a good performance. Calm but not passive. Dominant but damaging (no amateurish shoe-shining for points). Very professional. 

For Barrett: Is he finally done with a career full of taking the hard road? Because, it seems like he always has, and with little benefit. I used to have a little admiration for it but now it's turned to wariness when I see him set up in these matches. I have no urge to see him walk in, deck stacked against him, and get stepped on like a, well, a stepping stone, for some new prospect. And I don't support FS1 or any other channel giving the status of a main event to another instance of this. Granted, it's going to happen as long as boxing exists, these kinds of matches, but hasn't it happened enough to Monte Barrett on television? I hope he's able to retire after this and decides to do it. He may never have been a major title holder but Barrett has been a good road warrior and done a lot.



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Andy Vences VS Dominic Coca: Machismo VS Skill

Andy Vences was, for all I could see, pitch-perfect in his match against Dominic Coca- unless you're an ungodly nitpick. It was a tough, game guy with some frustrated bluster against what looked like a beautifully well-schooled boxer, last night. Coca landed maybe only one significant looking right hand to the head but overall he was intercepted with his best shots and blasted with accurate check hooks and jabs, no matter what he tried or how hard he followed or baited Vences to brawl. Coca did the best he could do with what he had and was forced into corner retirement having no success, talk of a damaged left hand and a day job to worry about. He's got nothing to be ashamed about in his performance. He wanted it, he got it, he did what he could with it for his circumstances.

Andy Vences is now on my radar. I was very, very impressed with his excellent performance. I think he's shown himself one to watch. He had the honour of best pure boxing performance on the FS1 card, in my opinion. He may not have the punching power that gets the casuals riles up but what I saw was some very aesthetically pleasing boxing and some very interesting potential, whether it's at Super Featherweight or Lightweight (this was held over the 130 limit). Andy Vences, still undefeated prospect, with a sharp performance and 3rd- round RTD/TKO victory in his TV date. Let's get him back for another card soon, Fox.


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Quote on Antonio Tarver's Power: Former Boxer, Brian Adams on FS1

On FS1, Antonio Tarver recently took apart game heavyweight journeyman Mike Sheppard. Tarver is 45-years-old and looking to make a run for a heavyweight title. He did demonstrate some stopping power against Sheppard, but he also demonstrated excessive weight. He says within a year he'll be able to beat any heavyweight, though right now he's not quite ready to take on the division's kingpin Wladimir Klitschko. What I found most interesting about the broadcast of his match was not Tarver's conditioning or demonstration of stopping power but rather former fighter Brian Adams' comments on Tarver's power.

 
Here was the exchange between fellow commentator Alan Massengale and Adams:

Massengale: 

"Sheppard is the kind of fighter that says "Well, I'm gonna go right at him. What else can I do?" And that presents challenges for Tarver, who's always been a pretty slick fighter, but you need power in this division, just to keep people at bay, at the very least."

Adams:

"Tell you a little story about Antonio Tarver's power. He never appeared to be a one-punch knockout type guy. But I remember in the amateurs, all of the super heavyweight guys, and  heavyweight guys, used to hate sparring with him. Because they all said he punched harder than other heavyweights and other super heavyweights, and he was a light heavyweight in the amateurs."



I don't think Tarver will make much noise at heavyweight, considering his age and the fact that the champion even has two mandatory opponents already lined up in recent upset man Alex Leapai and long-time Ring-ranked Kubrat Pulev. That said, Tarver's notable durability, championship experience, veteran craft and apparently not inconsiderable punching power could certainly see him get a well-regarded heavyweight name win. Personally, I would be very interested in seeing how he matches up with another man trying to make his way in the land of giants after a late move up-Steve Cunningham.




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Josesito Lopez VS Mike Arnaoutis: Mighty Mike Relatively Mighty in Defeat, Yet Again

Yet again, Mike Arnaoutis proves he isn't a shot fighter. Yet again, he's done his underrepresented Greece and himself proud, yet again with a fine account of himself in still another loss. Mike falls to 24-10-2, in one of the most deceptive records among active fighters. He dropped Lopez not only in a surprise knockdown but on a jab, and declares he'd like a rematch afterward. It's a technical decision defeat after a serious cut is opened on a headbutt. Lopez barely scrapes by on points. I think the score could have fairly gone either way. The fight itself was technically interesting, as Arnaoutis showed how decepetive his record is, and how genuinely solid an operator he can be.

His footwork had Lopez overextending himself and off balance for a large portion of the fight, unable to do what he does best. He had massive trouble setting his feet and pinning Mike down. But it looked like Lopez had finally adjusted his game and begun to get momentum on his side when the fight ended. Lopez has luck on his side through a surprisingly tough night and improves his record to 31-6-0. These men are both seemingly sitting in fringe contender territory and unwilling to quit. Mike being the supposedly done (well done) underdog makes him the star of the card, in my book.


Fight notes:

*Aired on FS1 (with commentators Mario Solis and Rich Marotta)
*Lopez claims to be working through injury troubles to his arm and knuckles (?)
*Arnaoutis says he would like a rematch



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Francisco Vargas VS Jerry Belmontes: When Your Slickness is Too Rough

Showing an astounding level of confidence in a very inefficient level of slick-styled defense, Jerry Belmontes, while taking a lot of steam off of a lot of Vargas' punches, still took one heck of a lot of scoring punches, en route to a clear and wide decision defeat. The shoulder roll lost him the fight as much as Vargas' ability won it, in my opinion. This was a strange one.

That's not to say Belmontes doesn't have solid talent, but he should've adjust when he was failing to stop the punches from scoring, despite being able to lessen their affect. That is also not to say that Vargas didn't show anything but Jerry's rough slickness. He had a good instinct for anticipating when Belmontes would dip into a left hook, he didn't get frazzled by fouls, he showed constant focus and the ability to put punches together enough to ruin Belmontes' chances of winning almost any round. But still, I didn't think he looked particularly sharp so much as Belmontes' defensive game failed and held stubbornly consistent in the worst way.


Vargas stays undefeated, and probably a little bit confused by his opponent's game plan. It might be a better fit if Belmontes chooses to put his hands up next time he gets in at this level. Both to block shots and to avoid making his opponents infertile. He landed several low blows. He had one good enough round where I thought he looked a bit like Miguel Vazquez (who is, by the way, still a titlist, still undefeated, and still not fought in 2013) but it was still a lot of confidence for not a lot of substance, in that, the ninth round. It was a bit too little and a bit too late. Francisco Vargas UD10 Jerry Belmontes. He earns the well regarded NABF Super Featherweight title for his fine effort.


Fight notes:
*The fight aired on FS1 (with commentators Mario Solis and Rich Marotta)
*A Golden Boy Promotions card
*Belmontes was cautioned multiple times for low blows and other fouling



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Jermall Charlo VS Joseph De los Santos: Charlo's Jab Unstoppable

Claiming in the lead-up that he really wasn't "impressed or threatened by him at all" and that his training camp was "great"/"the hardest camp I ever had" to Fight Hype, you got pretty much what he seemed to expect against Joseph De los Santos. DLS, a fighter with quite a few notables on his list of opponents, including Glen Tapia and Eddie Gomez (in losses), still comes with a double digit win and loss column and is on the south side of his thirties. It's no wonder Charlo didn't feel threatened, despite the experience quality gap.

He came in and used his significant height advantage and beautiful jab to control his opponent and hammered him with his powerful right hand until he got a stoppage. It was a jabbing clinic for the most part. Body jab? Double jab? Triple jab? Whatever you want. Charlo is a jab artist. Nothing DLS did could stop it from finding the mark. Charlo KO5 De los Santos on one of several massive overhand right deliveries and the last of three knockdowns. Charlo can hit, he has speed, accuracy and patience. I would really like to see what would happen between him and Demetrius Andrade for Boo Boo's title. . .

Notes:

*The fight aired on FS1 (with commentators Mario Solis and Rich Marotta)
*A Golden Boy Promotions card
*The commentators point out that the ref will have to pick up De los Santos' slipping trunks to prevent an X-rated show. Shortly thereafter, referee Raul Caiz Junior obliges.




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