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How confident are you in your Castillo pick? I was going with Montiel until I rewatched some of their fights from the last few years. If Castillo fights smart, stays on the outside and doesn't brawl too much he should be able to win a decision. Although I'm worried about Castillo's stamina and his face getting cut up, Montiel is too limited and hittable.. even for a past-prime Castillo. Hopefully he won't get pressured by the crowd to brawl and make it a more entertaining fight so we could win.

 

Not even a little confident. I think it's a literal toss up. I am going with experience here. Johnson, past his best and past his best weight, beat Montiel. However, Castillo is not in that league. But I think if he boxes, he can make Montiel very uncomfortable.

 

Huki, off topic, but I'd like to hear your thoughts on this...

http://www.eastsideboxing.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46462

 

Castillo likes to mix it up though, and likes to fight on the inside, the fights against Ishihara being a good example. Factor in the explosiveness of Montiel, and I have little doubt Castillo will start to mix it up with him. I see a close fight taking place, with the power of Montiel breaking down Castillo in the latter rounds. Close fight though no doubt. Does anyone else think that some of these lower weight classes are EXTREMELY under rated with some genuinely talented fighters?

 

Maybe the draw is the one to shoot for in this fight

 

I do - some of these guys in the lower weights go unnoticed (Calderon, Mijares, Montiel, Castillo) but they are damn good, some are even great.

 

Allright heres mine Decebal:

Pavlik ko10
Montiel UD by 2
Mijares UD by 6
Valuev tko9

 

Calderon goes WAAAY unnoticed

 

I think what makes it deceptive is the amount of good fighters floating around at these weight classes. Where as most higher divisions have a couple of really top class fighters, some of the lower weight classes have a lot of top guys, which are all willing to fight each other. Makes for some great, competitive fights. I definitely want to devote more time this year to watching these guys.

 

It's ashame too that he's finally starting to get noticed by more people. He's seen his best days and is slipping. Pressure fighters give him real trouble now.

 

Yeh I agree. How do you think he would look nowadays against Solis, think he could hang in there?

 

I haven't seen too much of Solis, but from what I have seen, he's strong and punches very hard. Maybe Calderon could outbox him and stay away for all 12, but I'd probably favor Solis based off of what I said about him. Cazares-Calderon 2 would be very dangerous for Ivan too. I'd like to see him return to 105.

What do you think about Solis-Calderon?

 

To be honest, from what I have seen of Ulises he is pretty stationary and not that hard to hit. He is quick to hit back though (much like Cotto). Like you said too; strong with good power. I would take a prime Calderon to decision him no problem, but its a tougher pick with the current version (which still isn't bad by any means though). I would honestly lean towards Calderon for a close UD. I think the Iron Boy could keep moving around Solis to frustrate him and stick to jabs and quick combos to take it.

 

Ok, here are my picks

Pavlik KO 8
Castillo SD
Mijares UD
White Wolf (close SD)