Moving On...

This will most probably be my final blog entry. Early this week, I've been given an opportunity to write for 8CountNews.com.

Everything that I've been blogging about will now be in 8CountNews.com. I will still write the same articles that I normally write in this blog. I will still maintain the tally as we move along every title fight. I will continue to do my fearless forecast but will start my slate from scratch. I had a good run here accumulating a 42-5-3 record with several picks going against the norm and hopefully I maintain that pace in 8CountNews.

I'm excited to join the 8CountNews team and would like to encourage my blog readers to continue reading my articles there.

By the way, I have a couple published already including the schedule for the coming week. Please check it out.

Champs and Titleholders By Countries

Darchinyan, Sturm, Adamek & Hasegawa Will Headline A Loaded Fight Week

Thank you.

Title Fight Result (July 4)

July 4 (Saturday) - Vienne, France
Panama’s Anselmo Moreno [26(8)-1(0)-1] vs. Iran’s Mahyar Monshipour [31(21)-4(2)-2]
Moreno retains his WBA Bantamweight (118 lbs.) title via split decision

Moreno successfully defended his title by using his length against a constantly hounding Monshipour. Monshipour was, as expected, in attack mode from start to finish. Moreno handled the pressure well as he used the ring to maneuver himself against the Tehran-born French citizen. The Panamanian penetrated Monshipour’s defense by throwing combinations in between and around his gloves. I scored the bout 115-113 for Moreno as he built a lead early to compensate for Monshipour’s late rounds rallies. I actually gave 4 of the last 5 rounds to Monshipour plus the third round. If Moreno’s due a mandatory then it’s very likely that he’ll meet interim titleholder Nehomar Cermeno. If he has time for another voluntary defense then unification against the winner of the Joseph Agbeko -Vic Darchinyan fight next week is possible. That’s something to look forward to. Other notable names in the 118-lb. class are Hozumi Hasegawa (if Moreno goes to Japan then this might happen), Fernando Montiel (not likely because of the hand injury and a rescheduled fight against Eric Morel) and Wladimir Sidorenko (Moreno’s probably tired of beating him). Ring; ESPN; Boxing Scene; Fight News

Prediction outcome: Right on the money, Moreno by decision.

Another notch to my win column. My record is now 42-5-3. No changes in the tally.

Title Fight Scheduled (July 4)

Slow week for title fights but next week will be huge. The calm before the storm. Barring anymore cancellations, there are 7 on tap next week. Here’s the lone title fight this weekend.

July 4 (Saturday) - Vienne, France
Panama’s Anselmo Moreno [25(8)-1(0)-1] vs. Iran’s Mahyar Monshipour [31(21)-3(2)-2]
Moreno‘s WBA Bantamweight (118 lbs.) title

Moreno will be defending his title for the 4th time after dethroning Wladimir Sidorenko last year. His last defense was a rematch against Sidorenko and pulled off a split decision win in Sidorenko’s home base of Germany. I always thought that a split decision win as a visitor is like a unanimous decision win in a neutral venue. That proves that Moreno can win anywhere. Monshipour is a French citizen born in Tehran. He is not a familiar name to casual boxing fans but hardcore fans cannot forget his war against Somsak Sithchatchawal in 2006 which ended up getting the consensus 2006 fight of the year. The tenth round was the round of the year. I remember my arms and face hurting just by watching that fight. Ironically, Monshipour lost his WBA super bantamweight title in that fight after ruling for almost 3 years and successfully defending it 5 times. He retired after that bout but came back last December with a firm objective of winning another world title in a different division. That explains the move to 118 lbs. from 122. He is 3(2)-0 since the comeback. He declared that he will retire for good if he does not win Moreno’s belt. It’s tough to bet against him specially if his work rate is the same as before. I’ll most likely root for him but with his age and Moreno’s abilities, smart money still goes to the Panamian. Prediction: Tough call but I still believe it’ll be Moreno only by decision because he doesn’t have knockout power. This is one prediction I don’t mind being wrong.