Pugilistic Preview: Bradley v Abregu and Angulo v Alcine

DirkDingo · Jul 16, 2010

Taken from: http://www.nobsboxing.com/news_details.php?id=56

Pugilistic Preview: Bradley vs Abregu and Angulo vs Alcine
Craig Medaris

After last Saturday nights Showtime telecast featured a pair of exciting fights featuring two of the brightest young stars in the game, this week HBO takes it turn to satisfy the viewers with a couple of fan friendly fights that are sure to be water cooler talk in all places worth working for.

In the lead-off, we have once beaten "prospect looking to turn contender", Alfredo Angulo facing off against former champion Joachim Alcine. Angulo (18-1 15 KO's) is coming off a reasonably impressive stoppage victory over Joel Julio back in April and now looks to cement himself firmly amongst the top contenders in the junior middleweight division. It's little over a year ago now that Angulo suffered his lone defeat at the hands of an upset minded Kermit Cintron, but in the eleven months since has ran off three straight stoppage wins and will be looking for number four come Saturday night.

Like most of his career, Alcine has been somewhat more reserved than Angulo in his comeback since his only defeat, (a KO loss in his first title defense to Daniel Santos) securing competetive decision victories over journeymen Eric Mitchell and Christophe Canclaux. He looked good enough in each victory to suggest that his comeback will not be for nothing, however Mitchell and Canclaux are a long way removed from an Angulo.

Alcine is a very competent boxer and uses angles nicely. He also knows how to set up his shots and counter effectively. All of these attributes will aid him Saturday night against Angulo, but one gets the feeling that he will be walking a tight-rope each round and any slip in concentration could prove disastrous.

Alfredo's relentless, bruising style can give even the most careful and patient of fighters fits and I suspect we will see Alcine put under serious pressure during the middle rounds of the fight. How he reacts to this ramping up of pace should decide the fight, because more often than not Angulo turns out the lights on his opponents once he starts to reach them consistently. I suspect that the questions asked of Alcine will come up negative and I see him going out in similar fashion to fifteen previous Angulo victims.

The main event is a welterweight contest featuring junior welterweight star, Tim Bradley and Luis Carlos Abregu in what could certainly be a sleeper pick for Fight of the Year. Bradley (25-0 11 KO's) the current WBO 140 pound champ is moving up in weight to face the dangerous Abregu (29-0 23 KO's) in what looks to be a risky fight for the undefeated champ.

I'll be honest with you here, I love this fight. It goes against a lot of what I believe in, but something about this one has me real excited. Perhaps its because this is something of throwback to the days when champions had to prove themselves all over again once moving up in weight, instead of the horrible practice where champ's from lower weights walk right into title shots in their new division right away. That's always annoyed me as plenty of quality fighters campaigning at the new weight are passed over for fighter unranked and unproven in the division. That'll do for my rant, but I will say this; the positive mindset and balls shown by Bradley in taking this fight has made me an immediate fan and I can't wait to see it play out.

Bradley is a really impressive fighter who mixes front foot aggression, with a rocking counter punching style and it combines to make for a wonderfully effective offensive and defensive package. Standing just 5'6'', Bradley was always going to have to do something extra to find success in professional boxing and he's really found a style that not only works for him, but truly maximises the effectiveness of his size so much so that his height has become an advantage against most opponents. Still, Bradley was short for a 140 pound fighter and that height is an even bigger disadvantage at 147 and as he goes along, he will have to work that much harder to remain undefeated.

As for Abregu, he's firmly entrenched in the top fifteen of the most stacked division in the sport right now, but without a big fight with a fellow contender on the horizon, a fight with the well known Bradley makes a lot of sense. HBO have ear-marked Bradley for bigger things and this network debut fight for Tim is seen by some as a way to showcase the young star and build his name with a newer audience. That alone should be all the motivation the undefeated Abregu needs to give the fans the fight of his life. Abregu is an awkward fighter, who's been in some of the most fascinating welterweight fights of recent years. His come-from-behind classic with Irving Garcia became an instant classic the second he put the finishing touches on Garcia.

Known for his vulnerable, exciting style, powerful combinations and huge heart, Abregu has something about him that you really have to respect and that's his ability to find a way to win. He's not always aesthetically pleasing and in fact can look flat out amateurish at times, yet through 29 fights now, he's been able to tap into the reserves and find the necessary fuel to pull himself over the line. That's a quality that usually only champions hold and while Abregu has not yet fulfilled that part of the bargain, a win over Bradley could go a long way to making that a possibility.

Both he and Bradley have been on the canvas early on in big fights, only to climb back up and come away victorious. Abregu against Garcia and Gutierrez and Bradley spectacularly so against Holt. That kind of vulnerability shows mortality that we as fans love to harp on, yet the heart shown to battle back and win is what appeals to us all and that's why they both have strong followings amongst the boxing hardcore.

We here at NoBSBoxing adore both of these guys and wish them well tomorrow night as they put on a show for us all. Tune in to HBO Saturday night and don't miss a second of it.
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Should be a great night of fights, guys. Don't miss them!

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Pugilistic Preview: Bradley v Abregu and Angulo v Alcine

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Pugilistic Preview: Bradley v Abregu and Angulo v Alcine

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