By Ian S Palmer
WBO Jr. Lightweight Champion Jamel Herring of Coram, New York will be defending his crown against Jonathan Oquendo of Puerto Rico in Las Vegas this Saturday, Sept. 5th . Herring, a southpaw and former 2012 American Olympian and U.S. Marine won the title from Masayuki Ito via unanimous decision in May, 2019 and then defended it against Lamont Roach by unanimous decision in November. Oquendo also fought in November and beat Charles Huerta by 10-round unanimous decision. The fight can be seen in America on ESPN and ESPN Deportes while fans in Canada can catch it on TSN.
The 34-year-old Herring enters the ring with a fine record of 21-2 with 10 Kos. He stands 5-feet-10-inches tall and has a reach of 70 inches. Herring turned pro back in 2012 at the age of 27 and has 138 rounds of experience under his belt since then. He served two tours of duty in Iraq with the Marines and has average power with a current knockout ratio of 43.5 per cent. He boxed for the Americans at the 2012 Olympics in London, England, but was beaten in the first round of bouts.
Herring’s first pro loss came at the hands of Denis Shafikov by 10th-round TKO in July of 2016. He then lost two bouts later to Ladarius Miller via an eight-round unanimous decision in August of 2017. Herring has been stopped once and dropped before, but has a pretty sturdy chin. He won the vacant USBA Super Featherweight Crown in September of 2018 with a 10-round unanimous decision over John Vincent Moralde. His biggest wins have been over Ito, Roach, Hector Velazquez, Luis Eduardo Florez and Art Hovhannisyan.
Oquendo is 34 years old and climbs through the ropes with a mark of 31-6 with 19 Kos. This is his second shot at a world title as he dropped a unanimous decision to Jesus Cuellar for the WBA Featherweight Title in 2015. Since turning pro in 2004 he’s won a few minor titles though including the WBO Latino and the WBO NABO Super Bantamweight Titles as well as the interim WBO Latino Featherweight Belt and the WBO Latino Super Featherweight Title. Oquendo stands 5-feet-4-inches in height with a 67-inch reach and has boxed 206 rounds since turning pro.
This means he gives up a big six inches in height to Herring as well as three inches in reach. He’s not the most dangerous puncher in the division either but has decent pop with a current career knockout ratio of 51.5 per cent. His other losses were a 10-round unanimous decision to Lamont roach in May, 2019, a 10-round unanimous decision to Abner Mares in 2014, a seventh-round stoppage by Wilfredo Vasquez Jr. in 2012, a third-round stoppage by Juan Manuel Lopez in 2008 and a sixth-round disqualification against Oscar Andrade in 2007.
Since he’s been stopped a couple of times in his career it could be safe to say that Oquendo’s chin is a bit of a question mark. He’s fallen short when stepping up in class other than his encounter with Jhonny Gonzalez in 2015. He’s also beaten the likes of Eden Sonsona, Joe Luis Araiza, Alejandro Montiel and Guillermo Avila.
Prediction……
I’ve underestimated Herring in the past and won’t do so this time around. He’s a solid but unspectacular pro who may be one of the most underrated champions out there at the moment. He’s got good skills and a worthy chin but tested positive for Covid-19 a couple of times everal weeks ago as this fight was originally scheduled for July He needs to be wary of Oquendo’s power and his tactics since Oquendo’s been known to land shots south of the border before. I’m expecting this to be a fairly entertaining fight with Herring holding onto his title.
