Jackson Asiku v Jhonny Gonzalez tonight

[Autobarn]

i am intriguied by this fight having seen asiku looking like an absolute destroyer in britain and australia. interestingly, gonzalez does not have a height advantage over asiku. somehow i figured he'd be taller and that this would be an issue. gonzalez, still a big(ish) name, had trouble making the weight - he was half a pound over but came back and lost a pound. asiku came in at 125.

gonzalez is looking for a shot at the WBC title. there is some confusion re the WBC title. the vacant title will be contested by former bantam champ hozumi hasegawa and juan carlos burgos, with elio rojas probably champ in recess, or something.

asiku gets the chance to establish himself - finally - against a known fighter. will he/can he, take full advantage?

fight's in vegas.

[black panther]

I give Asiku a great chance in this fight. Gonzalez is class: great boxing skills, good power but he is awfully fragile. Asiku can really punch and I feel he can catch Gonzalez. With Gonzalez once he gets tagged, body or head, that is usually all she wrote.

[Autobarn]

i think gonzalez will outbox asiku early, and maybe even take liberties, hitting asiku with power shots. reckon asiku can take it, and come into the fight in the middle rounds and start breaking down gonzalez.

think gonzalez has got the short straw in the WBC title shuffle at featherweight. the champ was rojas, and gonzalez wanted a WBC elim vs juan carlos burgos. i think champ rojas is injured, meanwhile former bantam champ hasegawa faces burgos for the VACANT TITLE, while gonzalez basically is giving asiku the biggest opportunity of his career in a very risky fight that he may be looking past or underestimating!

gonzalez may also be having trouble making the weight even at 126, having come in a pound over the limit but coming inside the limit when he came back.

[Autobarn]

am i the only one who won't be able to sleep tonight?

i think it's great that - while it's not a major title - that jackson has a big chance. i mean, we've seen guys at a similar weight, cook, arthur, burns, mitchell, munroe, all get big opportunities, with varied results.

jackson was the dangerman that nobody deemed worth the risk, and a win over someone like jhonny gonzalez could mean as much to him, as some of those other guys winning a WBO title or a world title elim...

[mickey1975]

Jackson got stopped.

[Autobarn]

yep, in the 6th.

fightnews sad it was "a very exciting fight".

so the best man won, jhonny is hot at featherweight and it puts jackson into perspective after years of wondering. he clearly is dangerous.

thing is, NONE of the yanks were discussing this fight, but it apparently turned out to be a thriller.

gonzalez can now look toward the hasegawa-burgos winner which sounds effing ace! and the mexican is clearly much tougher as a featherweight.

[Old bones Ian]

From reports he was in it for 3 rounds , then took quite a beating.

[orbtastic]

It was a good fight. Great 4th and good body punching from Asiku early on.

Asiku is one tough mofo, he was taking a steady beating in the 4th, 5th and again in the 6th. Stopped on his feet though, despite being down in each round previously.

[Autobarn]

disappointed for jackson. it's a hard business, isn't it? especially if you don't have someone who can guide your career and get you the right fights. seems he made an impression in an exciting battle, but then took a horrific beating from a very accurate and composed former world champion.

i hope he isn't ruined by the fight. a fight with rogers mtagwa might be exciting.

win or lose jhonny gonzalez has been in some good 'uns. stoppages of asiku and the up and downer with william gonzalez. the defeats to vazquez and nishioka. the man clearly has something more to offer and featherweight is getting VERY exciting.

WBA title - to be sorted out between chris john and gamboa.
WBO title - juanma lopez v rafael marquez.
WBC title - hasegawa v burgos, then rojas vs the winner and gonzalez apparently part of this mix. all these are great matchups and if the champs then come together this could be the best weight in boxing.

[WelshDevil]

Not watched this fight yet but have read its FOTY material.

[Old bones Ian]

Found fight here to watch.

http://budweiserboxing.forumcircle.com/ ... php?t=5781

[Autobarn]

enjoyed it. that's the best i've seen jhonny gonzalez. he looks a different fighter with a bit of meat on his bones and he didn't fall apart under pressure from a very strong featherweight.

gonzalez is so accurate with the left hook, his hands seem exceptionally quick and he's just got 6 quality featherweight rounds under his belt. i'll salivate over gonzalez vs the hasegawa-burgos vacant WBC title fight winner. maybe a good time to be jhonny gonzalez, and his win over montiel looks better now considering montiel's stoppage of hasegawa this year.

funny that essentially 3 massive bantamweights - gonzalez, hasegawa and rafael marquez - could all make a splash at featherweight.

hope jackson can get back in the mix, how about with exciting fighters such as micky roman (beaten by antonio escalante in featherweight war this year) or rogers mtagwa (nearly stopped juan manuel lopez, blown away by gamboa) in make or break wars?

[kevo]

WBA title - to be sorted out between chris john and gamboa.
WBO title - juanma lopez v rafael marquez.
WBC title - hasegawa v burgos, then rojas vs the winner and gonzalez apparently part of this mix. all these are great matchups and if the champs then come together this could be the best weight in boxing.

I'm finally starting to get excited by the FW division again!

[Counter-puncher]

enjoyed it. that's the best i've seen jhonny gonzalez. he looks a different fighter with a bit of meat on his bones and he didn't fall apart under pressure from a very strong featherweight.

gonzalez is so accurate with the left hook, his hands seem exceptionally quick and he's just got 6 quality featherweight rounds under his belt. ?

yup, throws the counter left hook very well moving back. he seems to move back with his bodyweight slightly over to the left to 'cock' it ready to throw the hook after slipping jabs.

[Counter-puncher]

is that the squawky squeaky godawful Joe Rogan I can hear on the commentary?

[Counter-puncher]

cracking fight, this.

[orbtastic]

is that the squawky squeaky godawful Joe Rogan I can hear on the commentary?

I think it's Benny Ricardo. He and Sheridan do the commentary. They're a pretty annoying pair. They made Tua/Barrett sound like Foreman/Lyle.

[Counter-puncher]

i always feel like i should be annoyed by Sheridan but I'm not. I like his pithy comments on referees doing their job.

[orbtastic]

He's quite funny, I just wish he would turn it down a notch. He's far less annoying than say, Adam Smith, who makes every fight sound like WWIII, no matter how dull.

[orbtastic]

Oh yeah, see you in a few hours I guess!

[Counter-puncher]

your bro get up to you without incident?

[orbtastic]

I believe he is en route, sipping tea in first class.

[Counter-puncher]

[Autobarn]

reckon i'd pick gonzalez over gamboa. gamboa relies so much on athletic talent, and is so careless. i think a guy who picks his shots as well as gonzalez, a well schooled and razor sharp fighter, could catch gamboa, maybe drop him a few times.

think gonzalez can win a title at featherweight. he actually looks better than rafael marquez at this weight. though marquez's achievements at 118 and 122 far exceed jhonny's, i pick jhonny to do better at this weight.

[kevo]

reckon i'd pick gonzalez over gamboa. gamboa relies so much on athletic talent, and is so careless. i think a guy who picks his shots as well as gonzalez, a well schooled and razor sharp fighter, could catch gamboa, maybe drop him a few times.

But what happens when Gamboa starts hitting him back? We all saw what happened vs Vasquez, and i'm betting Gamboa hits harder than Vasquez!