By Ian S Palmer
Hard-hitting middleweight Alfredo Angulo of Mexico will battle it out with Sergio Mora of East Los Angels at the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas this Saturday, April 7th in an eight-round battle. Angulo hasn’t fought since August of 2016 when he lost a 10-round decision to Freddy Hernandez. Mora’s last bout was in September, 2016 when he was stopped in the seventh round by Daniel Jacobs in their rematch after being stopped in the second round in their first meeting. Angulo and Mora are former sparring partners and buddies and neither has fought since 2016.
The 34-year-old Angulo, who now fights out of California, will climb into the ring with a record of 24-6 with 20 big Kos while the 37-year-old Mora is 26-5-2 with nine Kos to his name. Angulo is a fan favourite who has taken on the likes of Gabriel Rosado, Joel Julio and Joachim Alcine and knocked them all out. Angulo stands 5-feet-10-inches tall and has a reach of 69 inches. He’s boxed 149 rounds as a professional since 2005. Angulo has certainly taken on some tough, experienced opponents over the years.
Angulo’s six losses have come at the hands of Hernandez as well as Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in the 10th round in March of 2014, stopped by Erislandy Lara in the 10th round a year earlier and by James Kirkland in the sixth round in 2011. James De la Rosa beat him by 10-round unanimous decision six months after Alvarez for his third straight loss and Kermit Cintron beat him by 12-round unanimous decision in 2009. He’s now lest four of his last six fights and will have quite a bit of ring rust to get throufg.
Angulo has a straightforward slugging style in which he’ll take two or three shots to land one of his own. He has better than average power with a current knockout ratio of 67 per cent. And even though he’s been stopped and decked on more than one occasion, Angulo still possesses a solid chin. He always seems to fight well against Grade A opponents, but has always fallen slightly short against somewhat lesser-skilled foes such as Mora. He’s proven to be a forced to be reckoned with over the years though.
Mora has been beaten twice by Jacobs as well as twice by Brian Vera by majority and split decision. He was also been beaten by Vernon Forrest by unanimous decision in 2008. His draws came against Elvin Ayala in 2007 and Shane Mosley in 2010. In addition, Mora also beat Forrest by majority decision in their first meeting three months earlier. Mora turned pro in 2000 and has fought 241 rounds since then. He stands 6-feet-tall and has a 73-inch reach, so he’s two inches taller than Angulo with a four-inch reach advantage.
There’s no doubt Mora lacks in the power department as his current knockout ratio stands at just 26 per cent. Mora is an underrated boxer though who’s only been stopped by Jacobs and has a decent chin. He’s a hard worker, but his downfall has been lack of power. He’s getting a little long in the tooth now, but also has plenty of experience to draw from. Mora will find Angulo right in front of him when the bell rings and better be prepared to either slug it out or outbox his foe. He’ll obviously choose the boxing route since he can’t match Angulo in power and aggression.
Prediction…
Mora needs to protect himself by keeping his hands up and making sure he stays out of Angulo’s firing range. He also needs to throw quick, accurate punches to keep Angulo at bay and will need to display a solid chin. Angulo will take the fight on the inside when he can by cutting off the ring and will be going to his opponent’s body as much as his head. Angulo can get frustrated when he’s being outboxed and he isn’t that hard to hit, but he’s never out of a fight due to his power. Mora’s the better boxer and Angulo has more power, it’s a tough call, but I’m going with Angulo in this one.
