By Ian S Palmer
There’s a good 10-round super flyweight tilt scheduled for the Forum in Inglewood, California this Saturday, Feb. 24th when Carlos Cuadras of Mexico meets McWilliams Arroyo of Puerto Rico. The bout can be seen live in North America on HBO while fans in the UK can catch the action on BoxNation. Cuadras dropped a 12-round unanimous decision to Juan Francisco Estrada in his last outing in September while Arroyo was beaten by Roman Gonzalez by a unanimous decision in April, 2016 in a shot at the WBC Flyweight Title. Cuadras loss to Estrada was by scores of 114-113 across the board after being dropped in the 10th round.
The 29-year-old Cuadras is 36-2-1 with 27 Kos to his name. He stands 5-feet-4-inches tall and has a reach of 66 inches. He turned pro back in 2008 and has 204 rounds under his belt since then. Cuadras is a fine power puncher with a knockout ratio of 69 per cent, but has gone the distance in four of his past five fights and has lost two of his past three. His other loss came at the hands of Gonzalez by unanimous decision in September of 2016 while he was the WBC Super Flyweight Champion. He won the title in May, 2014 by technical decision over Rungvisai and defended it six times until losing to Gonzalez.
Cuadras’ lone draw was a four-round technical affair with Jose Salgado in September 2014. Cuadras has taken on some tough opponents over the years with his best wins coming against Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, David Carmona, Richie Mepranum, Luis Concepcion and Koki Eto. Cuadras has been on the canvas in the past, but still has a strong chin. He possesses good speed, experience, power and boxing skills and is hoping an impressive win here will earn him another world title shot.
The 32-year-old Arroyo climbs into the ring with a mark of 16-3 along with 14 Kos. He’s been victorious in five of his past seven outings and is a solid pro. However, he was beaten by split decision by Amnat Ruenroeng in October, 2014 and also dropped a four-round unanimous decision to Takashi Okada in June, 2010. Arroyo had a fine amateur career and has boxed 90 rounds since turning pro in 2010. He stands 5-feet-4-inches tall and has a reach of 64 inches.
Arroyo’s the same height as Cuadras, but has a slight two-inch reach disadvantage. Arroyo likes to pressure his opponents and also has a good body attack. He has good power with a current knockout ratio of 74 per cent, but hasn’t been very active over the past couple of years with his last fight being almost two years ago. Arroyo’s a tough character with a big heart, but he seems to fall just short of the mark when he steps up in class.
Prediction…
Arroyo shouldn’t be underestimated or taken lightly by Cuadras since he’s a quality opponent with decent experience and plenty of power. However, inactivity won’t help Arroyo’s cause. The former champion Cuadras is a better overall boxer than Arroyo, but will need to be wary of his power. Cuadras has the skills to beat Arroyo and should have his hands raised at the end of the fight.
