At the scene of boxing it look like Rafa will fight on June 4th on the undercard of Julio Cesar Chavez - Sebastion Zbik 'world title' fight. He is facing Mike Oliver (28 wins- 8 knockout, 2 losses- both stoppages). http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?human_id=64303&cat=boxer I don't recognise too many names besides Antonio Escalento and Mauricio Pastrano (somehow). Oliver hasen't fought for 1 year come fight night and is 31. Seems like he's taking it easy on his comeback fight. I wonder how he will get up for a fight like this. His past few fights have been big- four big fights against Vasquez and Lopez. Ok his comeback fight was nothing special but he needed it. As much as I want him to retire I would love to see him face someone like Hasegawa. I would really like his chances against Hasegawa.
Rafa is the most wicked combination puncher in the game, or was. I vividly remember his upset of Tim Austin for the IBF bantamweight title.
Oh yeah his combinations in the Mabuzu fight were nice too. One thing I noticed in the Lopez fight was often when he got close to Juanma he would lower his uppper body kind of in a hope that Lopez would back up. Lopez, rightfully so, would bang away to the body. Very much a amateur move that I do myself when sparring
Gonzalez-Rafa or Salido-Rafa. Those are 2 fights i want to see desperately. I actually wouldnt mind paying for that on PPV. You know you will get your moneys worth.
This is the kind of opponent I was expecting -a fair standard considering it's a stay-busy fight. I'd love to see Rafa fight Jhonny Gonzalez - a guaranteed great action fight in which both guys could ko the other.
I've seen Oliver a time or two and he's ok. Marquez is 36 and has been in a lot of tough fights so its hard saying what he has left. He'll beat Oliver but Oliver should be semi-competitive until Marquez knocks him out.
Well, I guess that answers this question... http://www.eastsideboxing.com/forum/showthread.php?t=302029 Note that nobody voting in the poll wanted to see RM move up to 130. :yep Oh well. :conf As for the opponent... "Mighty Mike" Oliver - as he used to be known back when he was on the rise as a main-event TV boxer in the middle of the decade - is a *****. Apparently he has upgraded his ring name to "the Machine" at some point in the last couple of years to toughen up his image and/or self-perception...but once a *****, always one. A loud-mouth who used to incessantly call out the weakest titlists in his division (Steve Molitor at the time) who could easily be shut up if you really took it to him. Rafael should be able to destroy him in no time flat. I sat ringside for Oliver's first loss: http://www.eastsideboxing.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1734865&postcount=16 ...and vividly remember watching the subsequent crushing by Escalante on Solo Boxeo. I was also a live witness to his pair of 2009 battles with local rival Castulo Gonzalez (who he'd stopped back in 2006) - and he was pretty much on even terms with Castulo, who is an unpolished can. He's a perfect example of someone whose successful amateur style just did not translate into the pro ranks once he started to step up his competition. Quick hands + slow feet + no power = recipe for disaster. Mind you, he had no power at super bantamweight - where Marquez was certainly able to carry his (ask Israel Vazquez). At super featherweight, I can't imagine Mike could so much as tickle Rafael with his absolute best shot (and we know Raf's power was intact even at featherweight from his brief battle with Lopez). If he makes it out of the first round, it's a disappointment on Rafa's part.
Damn, I forgot about Mike Mike. I remember him getting sparked out on FNF by some journeyman, then Escalante. This content is protected
