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Juan Carlos Burgos the busier fighter (101 punches thrown per round), Amidu, who took fighter on less than two weeks notice, was more accurate. Only 12 landed punches separated the fighters. Burgos' 1206 punches thrown #10 all time for lightweights in CompuBox's 28 yr. history.
FOTY candidate. Omar Figueroa landed an avg. of 40 of 79 punches per round- Arakawa landed 23 of 98 per round. Figueroa's 450 landed power shots ranks #4 all time for ALL WEIGHT CLASSES in CompuBox's 28 yr. history. 716 of their combined 760 landed punches (94%) were power shots. Figueroa landed 60% or more of his power shots in six of 12 rounds. Arakawa avg'd 80 power shots thrown per round.
Because true knockout artists are few and far between, boxing fans cherish each one that breaks onto the world scene. So far, Mexican lightweight Omar Figueroa appears to be the genuine article, all but one of his 17 knockouts in his 21-0 record occurred in the first three rounds and six of his last seven victories were finished within two rounds, including a one-round destruction of Abner Cotto -- Miguel Cotto's second cousin -- in his most recent outing. Somewhere, fellow Mexican Ruben Olivares must be smiling. On Saturday, Figueroa will take the next step in his journey as he will fight Nihito Arakawa for an "interim" WBC lightweight title, a step toward the genuine article should he be victorious. As for the 31-year-old Arakawa, who is eight years older, he is fighting on U.S. soil for the first time and his only other journey outside Japan resulted in a technical decision loss in Mexico -- against a Mexican -- two fights earlier.
Huge step-up fight for both. Chaves busier, Thurman more accurate, especially with power shots. Thurman's offense is his defense- opponents (Zaveck, Lora, Hopkins, Quintana) landed just 19% of their total punches. Limited Chaves opponents (Miranda, Miranda, Weis, Flores, El Massoudi) landed 33% of their power shots.
Soto Karass more than doubled Berto in punches thrown and landed 10 more per round. Berto's more accurate and hits harder. This could be a sluggest: Berto's opponents (Guerrero, Zaveck & Ortiz) landed 42% of their power punches, while Karass' opponents (Aydin, Maidana, El Harrak & Rosado) landed 45% of their power shots. 30 of their combined 38 landed punches per round (79%) were power shots.
There comes a time in every prospect's boxing life when he finds out whether he has "it" -- the ability to rise at ever-escalating levels of the sport. For Keith Thurman -- and for Diego Chaves as well -- that time has come. Each man has passed through his "Godzilla" phase with flying colors and they've gotten past the intermediate levels without a defeat. Between the two, only a butt-induced no-contest against Thurman represents the only blemish in 43 combined fights. For the first time, however, each is meeting a fellow beast and the prospect of defeat is now very real. Which man will continue his ascent through the ranks and which man will be forced to pick up the pieces? Statistical factors that may determine the outcome include:
Arakawa's the busier fighter- but not very accurate (vs. Shimada, Estrada). Omar Figueroa can bang and landed 42% of his power shots in last 5 fights. Opponents landed 36% of their power shots vs. Figueroa.
Both Andre Berto and Jesus Soto-Karass know what it's like to get off to fast starts in terms of a career. Berto won his first 27 fights, capturing a welterweight title belt and notching five defenses before suffering his first loss while Soto-Karass won his first nine fights -- all by KO -- before a draw blemished his perfect record. Another part of a boxer's experience is picking oneself off the floor -- literally and in terms of career path -- and marching onward. Berto's record is mixed here; he's 1-2 in his last three fights and in each of the two losses he suffered two knockdowns, but he got up and gave his tormentors -- Victor Ortiz and Robert Guerrero -- plenty of hell before dropping the decision. As for Soto-Karass he has incurred eight defeats and three draws yet still keeps coming with full force, win or lose.
Chisora forced the grappling, clinching type of warfare he preferred, limiting Scott to just seven landed jabs over six rounds. More than half of Chisora's 82 landed power shots were to the body.
Bey landed over 100 more total punches than Molina (111-15 edge in jabs landed), but it was The Gladiator who landed the telling bombs in round ten. Bey landed 60% of his power shots to 42% for Molina.