Boxcino Returns: The Junior Middleweights
by Cliff Rold
By the time Friday night is done, at least one undefeated fighter won’t be anymore.
By the time this year’s Boxcino is over, will we have a new contender at Jr. Middleweight? That was the question last year at 135 and 160 lbs. The answer was both ‘sort of’ and ‘not quite.’ The lightweight field was better from start to finish but winner Petr Petrov hasn’t been seen since. Middleweight winner Willie Monroe Jr. kept his momentum with a win over Brian Vera and looks like someone to watch going forward.
That’s what this is really all about. Boxing is only as fresh as its fresh faces. This structure, which once gave us the exciting Acelino Freitas, can deliver that.
This time around (ESPN2, 9 PM EST/6 PM PST), fans will watch a mix of veterans and new faces at Heavyweight and Jr. Middleweight, the lighter class kicking things off this week. The 154 lb. field of eight will play out to the same format as last year:
• The quarterfinal fights will be six rounds;
• The semi-finals eight; and,
• The final ten rounds.
• A draw at the end of regulations means we get a sudden death round.
It’s not rocket science. Thank God for that. Simple is fun and so are tournaments. Boxcino is back and boxing’s droll February is the better for it.
Here is how the tournament lays out.
Bracket One
Stanyslav Skorokhod (8-0, 6 KO) vs. Michael Moore (13-0, 6 KO): Talent is in abundance in Ukraine right now. Skorokhod, only 25, could be their latest arrival. The least experienced professional in the field, Skorokhod had some 200 amateur fights and has the look of a dangerous puncher. If the tournament goes the way he wants, he’ll progress to ten round outings by his eleventh fight and could emerge as a blue chip going forward. Moore, like Skorokhod, has been fighting since he was a kid in Cleveland and won two national amateur titles along the way. 28 years old, Moore will need a big showing in the tournament and this could potentially be the fight of the night. Given the other side of their bracket, this might well be an unofficial semi-final.
Cleotis Pendarvis (17-4-2, 6 KO) vs. Ricardo Pinell (10-1-1, 6 KO): This all-California clash doesn’t look as attractive as Skorokhod-Moore, but need can produce fireworks. Both need a win badly. The match, on face, is competitive. Pendarvis hasn’t fought since a fourth-round stoppage loss to Dierry Jean in 2013. However, he was good enough to hold Mauricio Herrera to a majority decision in defeat in 2009 and he’s only 28. The Los Angeles native can kick start his career with a win here. One-time 122 and 126 lb. title challenger Eddie Croft trains San Francisco’s Pinell. They’ve been together since Pinell took up the sport at a late 23 years old. Croft has confidence in his charge. Can he climb what appears a stiff uphill? That possibility is part of the intrigue of Boxcino.
Bracket Two
Brandon Adams (15-1, 10 KO) vs. Alex Perez (18-1, 10 KO): Adams, of Los Angeles, was the runner-up to Monroe last year in the 160 lb. field. It wasn’t a bad loss, giving him some needed experience. Still only 25, and having only taken up boxing at 19, Adams is back in a better weight class for him. At only 5’8, he’s not going to impose on many world-class middles. His hand speed and ability to pick up the sport have served him well so far. Adams has a decent test here in Perez. The 32-year old from New Jersey overcame a stint in jail and a layoff due to his wife’s battle with cancer. Perez has fought only twice since a stoppage defeat to Antonin Decarie on HBO in 2012, both wins. His hardscrabble life is typical of a hardscrabble sport. This is a critical fight for both men and the winner may be a favorite to go all the way.
Vito Gasparyan (14-3-5, 8 KO) vs. Simeon Hardy (13-0, 10 KO): Hardy, from the Bronx, goes by the nom de guerre of “Candy Man.” A Guyana native, the 27-year old has a scary 6’2 frame and he already has two wins over former Middleweight title challenger Howard Eastman. Eastman is past his best days, and lasted the route both times, but that is valuable experience early in a career. After losing 2013 to inactivity, he scored three knockouts last year. Burbank’s 28-year old Gasparyan hasn’t been in the ring since a 2012 loss to Jessie Vargas. Signed with Don King, he faced the frustrating inability to get dates too many King fighters have in recent years. Gasparyan has never been stopped and this is probably the biggest chance he is going to get. He’s in a position similar to Fernando Carcamo last year. Carcamo was a presumed underdog to an undefeated Ghanaian Olympian named Samuel Kotey Neequaye. Carcamo burst Neequaye’s bubble in two.
Maybe we’ll see some upsets. Maybe we’ll see some feverish action. That won’t be known until the fights go down. One thing is certain: with Boxcino we will see new faces and have a story to follow for the next few months.
And next week, we get that at Heavyweight.
Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com
