By Ian S Palmer
Alex Saucedo of Mexico is scheduled to take on Sonny Frederickson of Toledo, Ohio in a 10-round super lightweight bout this Tuesday, June 30th in Las Vegas. The fight can be seen live in America on ESPN and ESPN Deportes while those in Canada can catch it on TSN. Saucedo last fought in November when he stopped Rod Salka in the first round. Frederickson’s last contest was a 10-round majority loss to Samuel Teah in November as well in which he lost his USBA Super Lightweight Crown.
The 26-year-old Saucedo stopped Leonardo Zappavinga in the seventh round in June, 2018 for the vacant WBO International Super Lightweight Title and also defended his WBA-NABA USA belt. He then ran into Maurice Hooker for Hooker’s WBO World Title five months later and was stopped in the seventh round for his lone career loss. He’ll climb into the ring with a mark of 29-1 with 19 Kos.
Saucedo, who now fights out of Oklahoma City, stands 5-feet-10-inches tall with a 72-inch reach. He has pretty good power with a current knockout ratio of 63.3 per cent and has his last four wins have all come by stoppage. He turned pro back in 2011 and has 118 rounds of experience under his belt since then. Other than Hooker, Saucedo hasn’t really faced any top contenders.
His biggest wins up to now have been against Salka, Gilbert Venegas, Edgar Ortega, Clarence Booth, Raymond Serrano, Johnny Garcia, Abner Lopez and Gustavo Vittori. He’s won a few minor and regional titles and is well known for his exciting, relentless style and power.
The 25-year-old Frederickson is 21-2 with 14 Kos and has lost two of his last five outings. He made his pro debut in 2014 and has 95 rounds of experience under his belt. He’s quite tall at 6-feet-1-inch and possesses a reach of 76 inches. This gives him a three-inch advantage in height and a four-inch edge in reach on Saucedo.
Frederickson has good power in both hands with a good left hook and owns a current knockout ratio of 61 per cent. He had a great amateur career with a record of 120-8 and 60 Kos. He was the 2013 National PAL Bronze Medalist at 141 lbs and reached the 2013 National Golden Gloves Final Eight. He’s also captured five Toledo Golden Glove Championships and a pair of Ohio State Junior Olympics Championships.
The two losses on Frederickson’s career came at the hands of Shohjahon Ergashev by third-round stoppage in 2018 and against Teah last November. So far in his career he’s beaten the likes of Eric Palmer, Elvin Perez, Daniel Montoya, Placido Ramirez, Manuel Mendez and Joseph Laryea.
Prediction…
Frederickson may try to use his height and reach advantage to keep Saucedo on the outside, but Saucedo’s not afraid to get hit to land his own shots. He’ll try to work his way inside and wear Frederickson down. This should be a decent tilt and Saucedo should eventually start to walk through him and get inside. I think Saucedo’s relentless style earns him the win.
