By Ian S Palmer
Puerto Rico’s Thomas Dulorme will be battling Jamal James of Minneapolis, Minnesota for the interim WBA World Welterweight Title at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles this Saturday, August 8th. The 12-round bout can be seen live in North America on Fox, Fox Sports 1 and Fox Deportes. Dulorme last fought in October when he beat Terrel Williams by a 10-round unanimous decision. Dulorme’s last action came in July, 2019 when he topped Antonio DeMarco via a 10-round unanimous decision.
The 30-year-old Dulorme was born in Guadeloupe, but resides and fights out of Puerto Rico. He has a mark of 25-3-1 with 16 Kos and is a good boxer with decent power and a so-so chin. Dulorme’s pro losses came by a 10-round unanimous decision to Yordenis Ugas in 2017 as well as at the hands of the hard-hitting Luis Carlos Abregu when he was stopped in the second round in 2012 and to world champ Terence Crawford by sixth-round stoppage in 2015. His biggest wins have been against Hank Lundy, Karim Mayfield and DeMarcus Corley.
Dulorme stands 5-feet-10-inches tall and has a reach of 73 inches. He’s fought 158 rounds since turning pro in 2008 and has previously captured the NABF, and NABA USA Welterweight Titles. He has a current knockout ratio of 55.2 per cent but hasn’t recorded a stoppage since 2017. His best chance here is to get off to a quick start and try to pile up as many points as he can in the early rounds. But he’s going to have to stay on top of James all night long if he hopes to pull out a win.
Jamal James is a 32-year-old with a mark of 26-1 with 12 Kos. He turned pro back in 2020 and has boxed 161 rounds since. His power is mediocre with a current knockout ratio of 44.4 per cent. Jame’s is big for a welterweight at 6-feet-2-inches tall with a 70-inch reach. He’ll give up three inches in reach to Dulorme but is four inches taller. The only blemish on James’ record so far is a 10-round unanimous decision defeat at the hands of Yordenis Ugas, which is the same result Dulorme suffered against him.
James enjoyed a pretty good amateur career with wins over George Rincon, Johnny Garcia and Jonathan Garcia with a loss to Jose Benavidez all in 2009. Since turning pro he beat Mohammed Kayango for the Minnesota State Welterweight title and has wins over Angel Hernandez, Wayne Martell, Juan Carlos Abreu, Javier Molina, Ionut Dan Ion, Diego Chaves and Abel Ramos. He’s never been stopped and appears to have a solid chin, but has been dropped a couple of times.
Prediction…
Dulorme fought just once in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019 and his inactivity won’t help. He’s facing a taller opponent who has some good skills in James and he’s going to give Dulorme all he can handle. This should be a pretty close fight but if Dulorme brings his A game I’ll give him the edge for Saturday night.
