Hugo Cazares batters Badillo, eyes up unification fights.

Hmm, in a sense of who I'd rank at #1 based on their recent body of work, then yeah, I'd have Hugo at #1. I'd still think that Narvaez and Mijares would beat him though. I think he's a bit too gung-ho at times for guys as defensively adept as those two. I'd like to find out though!

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VLRS_Zdxw0&feature=player_embedded[/ame]

El Diamante's most recent fight, against Nicaraguan Carlos Rueda. From a fans perspective, it's a bit frustrating that he was left with Rueda, both Bouziane and Raul Martinez would've made for intriguing match-ups, but unfortunately both pulled out. If he hadn't of taken this as simply a marking time fight, I'd be a bit worried. Mijares won just about every round, but wasn't particularly impressive, he didn't make Rueda look as much out of his depth as he was. Then again that could be because he was forced to lead for a lot of it, which is a distant second in terms of his most effective way of fighting. Rueda mostly just moved around before lunging in with uneducated, unbalanced burst of winging punches, which will never trouble someone as defensively adept as Diamante, even if he is taking it easy.

Hopefully a fight with Tomas Rojas(who, incidentally, has stopped Rueda before) comes off. That'll be a good indication as to where both are now, or, more to the point, sort out just who is the best at super-fly. Omar Narvaez or Mijares is where my money is at the moment, but a win for either Mijares or Rojas against one another puts them top for me.

Mijares needs to get fighting regularly now though, no big breaks, especially after fights like this which don't really mean much except for giving him some added sharpness. I hope he can rack up some good wins before he calls it a day though, he still has the ability to do so, which many thought he didn't after his three successive defeats. The first one, to Vic Darchinyan, did put a massive dent in his career. Stylistically though, Vic was a nightmare for Mijares, his brand of awkward agression just didn't allow Cristian to find any rhytem, which is something that's always imperative for him when he fights quality opposition. He unravelled when he couldn't find Vic, and that, coupled with the fact that Darchinyan is one of the hardest ever punchers at 115 spelled disaster really.

The back-to-back with Nehomar Cemeno seemed like it spelled the end of Mijares' career full-stop. Though it appears as though it was actually the fact he moved up in weight that did that. Someone of Mijares' class, no offence to Cermeno, shouldn't be losing to a fighter like Nehomar, especially not twice. He looked sluggish at bantam for me, his reflexes slowed, he was much slower and nowhere near as sharp.

But from watching him in his defining comback fight against Topo Rojas, I still think he ain't too far off his best. He's slowed a bit in terms of speed and reflexes, but other than that, he's still got a lot of what made him successful in the first place. He is still very clever(one of the best ring IQ's in the sport without doubt) and has good ring generalship. And he still sets traps and employs a lot of subtle little movements to avoid oncoming punches. The range-finding jab and the laser-straight counter left are still evident, as well as that he's incorporated a lot more sustained body punching, particularly blows to the liver. Rosas was a perfect opponent for him, just the kind Mijares likes to fight. It was not only a world title fight but also a confidence builder, his handlers did very well in that respect.

I think Mijares might be the best at 115 right now. He's a class above Cazares IMO, and is better than Tomas Rojas, but Gusano is improving that steadily I'm not sure how much better, or, at least, not confident enough to make a guess. I'd love to see him in with Narvaez, that would be a dream come true for me. Maybe not the most entertaining fight you could conceive, but in terms of technical brilliance being on show, there isn't many better fights out there.

I love the third round of the Topo Rojas fight, the sheer number of shots he slips at such close range, often backed against the ropes, is exceptional. James Toney himself would be proud watching this, it's absolutely immense. You can count on one hand how many punches Rojas lands, if Cristian doesn't slip them, he's blocking them. I'm so glad that this guy didn't retire, he epitimises just what a pure, intelligent boxer is.

Topo fight:




[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hvUqrVUqVI&feature=player_embedded[/ame]


[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00kUvPUcMdY&feature=player_embedded[/ame]


[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zInrfnD2tc&feature=player_embedded[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVkknUIsfMM&feature=player_embedded[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orhmbsDsdnE&feature=player_embedded[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3KXzuofvZc&feature=player_embedded[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjWSzqY2qD0&feature=player_embedded[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKErcjQpNNE&feature=player_embedded[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6E7BSf52bY&feature=player_embedded[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAB46hZFFEk&feature=player_embedded[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpDU6ASW6Ks&feature=player_embedded[/ame]

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apaHZg1fNdg&feature=player_embedded[/ame]

 

I take it we'd all be in agreement that he'd get splattered by Donaire though, whatever about the other guys in the division.

 

:yep

Fair point. I think Agbeko could go the distance though. Maybe. Probably not actually.

 

We've even got onto the subject of Mijares, I'm in ****ing dreamland.

Nah, beat them, maybe, but he wouldn't be too impressive in doing so. His stance is a bit too screwed up to deal with a competant mover and he's too ragged to look good against guys with the defence of Mijares and Narvaez. When Cristian moved up, if he was as good at bantam as he was at super-fly, he beat anyone there now barring Donaire.:deal

I suppose, I'll take that as a positive. At least you watched him.:yep

I've had one since that fight.

 

That would be immense.:rofl

Definitely watch some more of him. Easily one of the best technical fighters of recent years, and one of the best ever at the weight.

 

"I'm going to knock Badillo out and then I'll be ready for unification. I want to measure myself against Tomas Rojas, Cristian Mijares, Vic Darchinyan or Koki Kameda. I want to prove to myself that I can compete with great fighters. Arturo is a good fighter, hungry to excel. I will be very much alive. I am in excellent condition and I trained very hard. I'm coming to put on a great show."

Noticeable lack of a Narvaez mention in there.

 

Well, Cazares stormed through Badillo with consulate ease, establishing his superiority from the opening bell. He pushed Arturo back consistently and landed every left hand he threw. Landing on a regular basis, he let go with an all-out assault in the third, pounding Badillo to the canvas three times before the referee stopped it.

He reiterated the point post-fight that he wants Mijares, Naravaez or Rojas and, if that fails, a move up to challenge Kameda, Darchinyan or Donaire would suffice.