By Ian S Palmer
WBA Featherweight World Champion Jesus Cuellar of Argentina will be defending his title against Jonathan Oquendo of Puerto Rico this Saturday, December 5 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The 12-round bout can be seen live in the U.S. on the Showtime Network while British fans can catch the action on BoxNation. The 28-year-old Cuellar enters the contest with an impressive record of 27-1 along with 21 Kos while the 32-year-old Oquendo is 26-4 and has 16 Kos to his name. The bout is in the undercard of the WBA middleweight title tilt between champion Daniel Jacobs and former world champ Peter Quillin.
Oquendo is coming off of a 10-round majority decision over former champion Jhonny Gonzalez in September at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and this is his first crack at a world belt. He stands 5-feet-4-inches in height with a 67-inch reach and has boxed 153 rounds since turning pro back in 2004. He’s not the most dangerous puncher in the featherweight division, but he has some pop with a current career knockout ratio of 53 per cent. He lost a 10-round unanimous decision to Abner Mares in 2014, was stopped by Wilfredo Vasquez Jr. in seven rounds in 2012, was stopped by Juan Manuel Lopez in three rounds in 2008 and was disqualified in the sixth round against Oscar Andrade in 2007. However, he’s emerged victorious in 12 of his past 14 bouts.
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 Gonzalez. Cuellar is an inch shorter than the challenger at 5-foot-6, but his 68-inch reach gives him an inch advantage in that department. He’s also a heavier hitter with a knockout ratio of 75 per cent and also has about the same pro experience with 142 rounds to his name since 2008. Cuellar has won 10 fights in a row with his only loss coming at the hands of Oscar Escandon by way of seventh-round stoppage in 2011.
Cuellar has dynamite in both fists and has seven stoppages in his last nine wins. He was knocked out in his only loss, but still has a pretty decent chin. His last outing came back in June when he stopped former world champion Vic Darchinyan of Armenia in eight rounds. Cuellar won his championship in August of 2013 when he beat Claudio Marrero by unanimous decision. He’s defended it three times against Rico Ramos, Juan Manuel Lopez and Ruben Tamayo. Meanwhile, Oquendo’s best wins have been against Gonzalez, Eden Sonsona, Joe Luis Araiza, Alejandro Montiel and Guillermo Avila.
Prediction
It’s possible that this could be Oquendo’s one and only world title shot since he’s 32 years of age. His recent record shows that he’s worthy of it, but he has problems when he steps up in class. He’ll need to be at his best to pull out a win here, but the more likely scenario will see Cuellar retaining his title via decision or stoppage in the second half of the fight.
