BoxRec

A little surprised to not see a thread pop up on this one. It was a 'beautiful' (Jim Watt) display of boxing by Montiel. I could partly feel the frustration of Hernandez through the TV: he just could not see a way through. Montiel showed real class the way he schooled the youngster. I thought this fight would have been more competitive after seeing Hernandez put Mark Johnson on his back on the Jones - Johnson undercard. It was said at the time, but I think it can be confirmed now, that Too Sharp is 'Too Old', though apparently he's got a fight lined up in May.

Montiel - Castillo would be one to look forward to: a technical dream match.

PS: was that Baby Jake in Fana's corner when he (Mzonke) was getting introduced?

I think it was Mr Matlala.

Scary to think that the first time I saw him was fighting Dave McAuley, back in the mists of time.

Montiel's class. I was disappointed by his performance vs. Johnson; I think though that he got kind of conned in that fight. Old manned out of it.

He looked the biz against Hernandez; I was creaming myself about this fight (metaphorically), and it turned out, I thought, quite one-sided.

Martin Castillo's a bloody sharp boxer and if that fight comes off I couldn't pick a winner. It has the potential to be a great fight, in the manner of Ayala vs Bones Adams I (although neither Mexican is a southpaw I think the styles might well mesh, because someone at some point is going to have to go forward and grab the fight). Montiel's bodypunching (evident back when he was a flyweight) might be more damaging than anything Castillo's got, but I think El Gallo is the better technician, for all Fernando's flashiness.

A fight I'd love to see. And if the winner goes in against the baby Marquez brother, Rafa.... fornicate man. That'd be FOTY.

Yes a good performance from Montiel. I wouldn't right Too sharp off yet, he had some good spells vs Hernandez and came close to KO'ing him before getting tagged himself.

I would like to see how much he has left, because between the Montiel and Hernandez fights he looked razor sharp - perhaps he just took the then unheralded Hernandez a little lightly.

I wouldn't say that Johnson has no chance in a rematch with either Hernandez or Montiel.

I agree Stu; Too Sharp has the ability to flatten 90% of sub-bantamweights in the world, if he lands one flush. The last thing they lose is their punch, right?

He was a top five PforP'er, back in the day. I just think he's definitely getting into the "Aging and inconsistent" category, though.

Here's a question, and a potentially unpopular thesis:

Is Barrera in that same category now? He looks to have lost a step to me. Still one of my favourite active boxers though. I wonder if DLH can set up something huge for the summer or autumn; I think it'd be worth a trip to Vegas or LA to see him before he's gone, particularly if it's a megafight.

Nels wrote:Scary to think that the first time I saw him was fighting Dave McAuley, back in the mists of time.

First live fight I saw involved Paul Weir (before he met Jake). Can still remember the ring, the boxers, the atmosphere, etc. like it was yesterday... yet when you look at the tape it seems from a bygone era; looks ancient. Scary stuff.

stujones wrote:Yes a good performance from Montiel. I wouldn't right Too sharp off yet, he had some good spells vs Hernandez and came close to KO'ing him before getting tagged himself.

Yes, I agree. I wasn't actually confident tagging him as 'Too Old'. In retrospect, that was harsh.

Yeah what a terrific fighter Montiel is. Totally balanced in everything he done, just took him apart.

Montiel was awesome. If you look in the boxing dictionary for the word schooling there is an MPEG showing this fight

Montiel was class, he countered superbly. Hernandez was truly outclassed