A personal note if you please,
(A Gordon Solie nod there), it has come up once or twice on why I rarely have ShoBox bouts in the challenge.
It's mainly because often I haven't seen the fighters before and I hate going off records only which can be so deceiving.
ShoBox is one of my favorite things in boxing and I mean no disrespect.
ESPN on Friday travels to the boxing hotbed of Hinckley, Minnesota for the first defense of middleweight Rob Brant's minor title.
Brant pulled off a huge upset last year to win that "title" from former Olympic gold medalist Ryota Murata in a terrific performance that was impressive enough for Murata promoter Top Rank to sign Brant to a partial promotional agreement.
Alas as often happens when a fighter has a homecoming fight, the opponent is often a soft touch or one so unknown that it is hoped to be a soft touch and that rule proves the point again in Russia's Khasen Baysangurov, who possesses the required glossy record (17-0 7 KO's) and the lack of competition to really know the opponent's level- Baysangurov checks that box with only one fighter on his record of note in journeyman Paul Valenzuela.
I always hate these fights because one just doesn't know if this is a squash match or a fight that proves Baysangurov as a worthy contender.
We'll see.
Fox and the PBC aren't to be outdone with the squash match mentality with WBA featherweight champion Leo Santa Cruz making one of his yearly (or occasionally twice yearly) appearances.
The talented Santa Cruz tends to rarely make the fights that fans and media would like to see take place (credit is given for his two bouts vs Carl Frampton, some credit removed for demanding a rematch when he lost and refusing a third fight after he won) and follows a template as follows- fight a squash match, take six months off, fight a good not great fighter in a fight many are meh about, take six more months, return with a squash match and the beat goes out.
I'm sure the fighter and his team have their share in this, but some blame needs to go to PBC as they follow the same path with WBC champion Gary Russell, except Russell usually fights once a year,
Late replacement Rafael Rivera (original opponent Miguel Flores was no better) has a glossy 27-2 record, but lost both fights in his last three outings and was almost shutout by solid contender Joseph Diaz, who is a cut below Santa Cruz.
I have a feeling many people in and out of the PBC camp are going look back at the careers of Santa Cruz and Russell and might have lost some opportunities.
The other bout could be fun as former lightweight champ Omar Figueroa attempts to revive a once promising career against durable veteran John Molina in what could be a fight filled with action.
Figueroa, who has fought just once in over three years and not at all in nineteen months, looked very strong in blasting out aging veteran Robert Guerrero in three rounds, while Molina gives almost all of his top opponents a tough night, despite usually losing them.
This should be the best fight of the weekend.
Ramon Malpica leads me in the boxing challenge 32-31.
Middleweights 12 Rds
Rob Brant vs Khasen Baysangurov
Both: Brant Unanimous Decision
WBA Featherweight Title. 12 Rds
Leo Santa Cruz vs Rafael Rivera
R.L: Santa Cruz Unanimous Decision
TRS: Santa Cruz KO 8
Welterweights 12 Rds
Omar Figueroa vs John Molina
R.L: Figueroa KO 9
TRS: Figueroa KO 7
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