i guess somebody might as well mention the 2,500 pound elephant standing in the middle of the room....
that elephant is jhonny gonzales/fernando montiel....
a verrrry interesting match-up.....should be getting more pub......seems like the solid cappers i know are avoiding this one like the plague...
one of my biggest hits(all mine are small,lol)was montiel as a dog vs ivan hernandez...a bad line...obviously due to montiel`s poor showing vs southpaw mark johnson...and his last 2 outings weren`t impressive....
there was a time when i though montiel was a legit top 10 pfp guy......i don`t think that anymore.....he seems to have trouble with southpaws.....and doesn`t seem to get up for lesser name fighters...
that`s not the case here,though...this is big...the winner probably gets a mega-fight with marquez...and theres always martin castillo...
montiel is very slick and can punch...but,he`s moving up.....only 3 pounds...but,still,that`s 3.5 inches in height to boot...
hernandez was 5`6".....not as tall as gonzales...but taller than montiel... he does o.k. against taller,slower fighters...that will be the case here..
i expect montiel to start fast....but,can he sustain?......he faded in his last 2 fights....vs lesser guys than gonzales... albeit different styles...
was the fade sue to the weight?..i don`t know......montiel has fought at 118 3 times....all 3 were stoppages...
and i don`t think the mark johnson cpmparisons are valid...johnson was just turning 32 when he beat montiel......it was almost 3 full years later when he fought gonzales...at 118...
and smallish,quick chapo vargas gave gonzales fits earlier in his career(funny,i don`t remember vargas being a southpaw as boxrec indicates...bad memory)......
.will gonzales come after him.....use that power...that big hook to the body.....or just bounce around as he does(and it`s infuriating) on occasion.....
big quickness advantage for montiel...and montiel may have the better whiskers....i think,if gonzales dicks around,he will have problems....
but,as i said, montiel`s last 2 fights weren`t encouraging... maybe at 27...after fighting many top fighters he is past his prime...
and gonzales can punch....but,that damned bouncing he does is ridiculous...
classic boxer/puncher match-up....
no "real" homecourt advantage...
i feel like i owe montiel...but i see this as a muuuucchh tougher fight than hernandez...
a toughie...
must see t.v.
