Brian Rose vs. Javier Francisco Maciel - WBO Eliminator to face Andrade/Martirosyan

WBO #5 Javier "La Bestia" (The Beast) Maciel has a few parallels with WBO #4 Brian "The Lion" Rose.

They're both a couple of years out from their only legitimate defeats in the ring. Maciel technically does have two on his record but the Franco travesty is just farcical. It was a cuts stoppage from a headbutt, awarded to Franco first via robbery split technical decision although Maciel had been dominating him and then, changed into the even worse TKO result that currently stands. Maciel's real professional loss is to stellar but now long-shelved middleweight champ Dmitry Pirog by very clear but surprisingly competitive decision in March 2011. Rose's is to scrappy, always-game Jamaican born journeyman Max Maxwell by shock TKO in May 2010.

Since their losses, both have rebuilt themselves, mostly on their respective domestic circuit, facing prospects and gatekeepers, national champs and well-past-best former contenders - but they have both dominated in style. Rose is 10-0 (3) including a one-sided 12-round avenging of the Maxwell loss, plus a few respectable names in his campaign to capture and make five defenses of the British light middleweight title. Maciel is 9-0 (8.) including four consecutive first-round knockouts and has likewise captured and made five defenses of the WBO Latino 154lb title.

Both have developed some late bloomer pop well into their careers. In Rose's case, it was more the classic Hozumi Hasegawa or Lee Selby model where he for a long time wore the feather fist label but suddenly has found the ability to punch with conviction. He is still only stopping 30% of his foes since Maxwell but he is also facing substantially better opposition than in the first half of his career - and the stoppages were of former world champs (Vivian Harris and Joachim Alcine, though both are now shot) and one previously unbeaten prospect. The rest, despite reaching the final bell with Rose, have certainly shown respect for his new dig. In Maciel's case, it was a matter of finding his true identity - that of an extremely powerful and explosive light middleweight. Up through his challenge of Pirog he was conducting his business up at middleweight and looking far less effective. 154lbs suits him perfectly and he is living up to his ring name in terms of the 'eye test', such that I personally consider him top 5 h2h at the weight. In hindsight it's a testament to his skill and determination that he was even remotely competitive with Pirog considering the Russian is (when active) considered among the best two or three middleweights around the globe, and that Maciel had no business at 160 and was much poorer there.

Last night Maciel battered tough countryman Alejandro Falliga into submission by the fifth, who in 37 career matches had only ever been stopped by Andy Lee, also in five. Rose is coming off a wide outpointing of another tough mug in Bulgarian professional distance-goer Alexey Ribchev.

They will meet in Yorkshire on the Brook vs. Senchenko undercard on Saturday, October 26th. On the line is a date with either Demetrius Andrade or Vanes Martirosyan, who meet three weeks later to scoop up the belt dropped by erstwhile paper champ (or at least, the weakest belt-holder at 154 by far and easiest path to a world championship in perhaps any division when he still held it) Zaurbek Baysangurov when he was sidelined with injury.

 

A glimpse of current form:

Rose vs. Ribchev: (sorry, DailyMotion videos no longer embed here)
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x11e1ug_2013-06-29-brian-rose-vs-alexey-ribchev_sport

Maciel vs. Falliga (highlights only)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-dQNfbWPIA

 

Well, the guy Ishe beat was a paper champ as well but K-9 did stop Baysangurov. :yep

 

Next to hold the belt.

It will be Rose vs. Andrade or Rose vs. Martirosyan or Maciel vs. Andrade or Maciel vs. Martirosyan (which, remember, was supposed to happen already in a final WBO eliminator to face Baysangurov but got scrapped for reasons unknown) for all the marbles some time next year.

 

...which is why I think he would've been perfect easy pickings for either Maciel or Martirosyan, both of whom can really crack at 154. Rose or Andrade would have probably needed to beat him very clearly, and it probably would have been in Kiev so they probably would have gotten robbed despite outboxing him.

 

:hey Correct - he was at one time or another scheduled to face both Vanes and Demetrius. :good Good memory.

Andrade he would have beaten, IMO (despite him being from my neck of the woods I've long considered Boo Boo all flash over substance, a KO waiting to happen).

Martirosyan would have been very difficult but La Bestia would've been a live dog.

 

Correction - this latest WBO Latino title defense nudged Maciel up a spot and leapfrogged him over Rose in the rankings.

Maciel is now #4, Rose #5.

 

Per Fat Dan this card is airing on AWE TV in the US. :happy

 

Eh?

 

:huh

http://boxrec.com/show_display.php?show_id=676197

SKY in the UK; Wealth/AWE in the US. What do you know to a contrary effect, ginger?