Last night I was thinking about the Panamanian world champion and wondering why he gets so little talk around him. Hes only 26 and has defended his bantamweight title 8 times I think, beating a lot of good fighters along the way inluding Sydorenko and Parra. Hes also shown that hes not afraid to travel. Everyone wants to see Donaire vs. Mares or Agbeko, but now that the tournaments over, Moreno would be interesting with any of them. Hes prerty tall for the weight and is a southpaw with a good workrate. Any thoughts on him?
Well, Nonito and Anselmo went into negotiations for a fight, but I don't think it ever made it passed the purse. I'd like to see Moreno in with the top bantamweights, but I feel like he blew some of his chances by not fighting Donaire.
hes from Panama and holds a WBA belt.. thats why he always gets the nod in all remotely close fights even in places like Germany. hes solid/average but has little relevance imo
People call him the most underrated fighter in the sport. He's not. He's good and all, but he's not at the level of the guys at the top of the division. I think he's flattered by his wins over what I consider to be past-prime fighters in Sydorenko, (Volodymyr wasn't as good then as he was say, in his fights against Poonsawat and Mastrito) Monshipour, Parra, you see where I'm going, his resume isn't all that good when you look into it a little bit. He's hailed as a kind of supreme talent with great slickness, for me he's about as basic as they come for the most part. He'll throw a straight left, which normally lands, and he'll then duck to the left, usually avoiding his opponent's shot in retaliation. However, what he does not do is make an attempt to avoid the shots that follow the failed attempt, there's not much point in dodging the first shot when you get caught by the second, third, etc, particularly when you don't have the ability to slip and counter with any kind of fluidity, as he doesn't throw a shot after evading one to discourage the opponent from proceeding in their combination. He'll drop to the left and linger there, and seems to assume that that's all that is neccessary for him to do, which, as evidence has shown in his fights where he's consistently caught with right hands, isn't the case. His lack of punch variety is also staggering, seeing as he only seems to possess two of them, his southpaw jab and straight left hand. Considering that he regularly has height and reach advantages over his opponent, learning to throw an uppercut would greatly benefit him, seeing as his adversary usually plays the role of agressor, and as a result will attempt to get under his long arms. Alas, he doesn't do this, and instead what he does do is throw a series of powerless jabs in succession, and you know the straight will follow. It's just a matter of how many times he'll paw at you before he unleashes the left. Even the implementation of putting more power behind his jab would suffice, he doesn't slow his opponents down enough IMO and has to constantly try to keep them off him throughout the fight, rarely getting any respite in the process. What also contributes to him being worn down down the stretch is his poor footwork, which is consistently far too wide when he's circling(i.e. always) and mixed with poor balance. He tires himself out by doing this, and never sets himself to punch with any authority, leading to him having to work non-stop throughout the fight. He's sort of like a worse version of Amir Khan I suppose.
He's a step below Donaire, Mares, Agbeko, Montiel and Darchinyan. He had two disputed SD victories over Nehormer Cermeno who has since been taken to school and KO'd by Montiel. I'd probably even favour Yohnny Perez over him
He's one of those fighters who occasionally comes along and manages to always get the benefit of the doubt in really really close fights. As others have said he's really limited and as a result most of his fights are really difficult which will probably lead to him getting burnt out pretty quickly.
It's a case where he probably was ignored a bit too much, so now the pendulum swings the other way as people see his resume. So now he's in the weird spot of potentially being overrated and underexposed at the same time. Of course I probably played a small role in that because I'd occasionally throw his name out as an honorable mention on P4P lists just to get it mentioned as he was practically a ghost on here lol. He's a good, solid little fighter, but I think he may have peaked and doesn't have the ceiling of, say, a Nonito Donaire or the other top bantamweights. I'd say he's at the top of the next level.
I agree that hes more limited as far a potential compared to Donaire, but hes done pretty well for himself and at least should be considered a threat even if he isnt great and lacks power, hes solid and a fairly longtime title holder. I kind of equate him to Caballero as far as career and caliber but hes younger and in a better position than Caba was imo.
I think he's definitely done enough to earn a shot with one of the other bigger named guys- and once he gets the chance, who knows what can happen from there? Bantamweight is stacked right now, so he doesn't need to go straight to Donaire. He's had his title and racked up some defenses, I think now is a good time for him to test himself against the next level of bantamweights. He's earned that much.
He's fun to watch and he's skilled. I'd like to see him against Agbeko, Mares, Perez or Darchynian. However, I think he's the one who would do the worst against Donaire. I think he's way too much predictable. The way he always throws that right check hook would get him murdered by a left hook from Donaire. Much easier to time than the right hook Montiel threw before being shot.
