By John G. Thompson: Alfredo “Perro” Angulo 19-1 (16 KO’s) utterly dominated Joachim Alcine 32-2 (19 KO’s) at the Agua Caliente Casino in Rancho Mirage, California on HBO’s Boxing After Dark. Alcine’s troubles began mid way through the first round when he started holding Angulo’s left arm. Instead of waiting for the referee to separate them, Angulo did what most fighters should do and started pounding his opponent with the free arm. Alcine absorbed right after right until he was forced to let go. Angulo continued to throw, but not in a disorganized onslaught as he had done in some of his previous fights, instead showing a more measured approach. Angulo’s accuracy and power took their toll as Alcine’s back reached the ropes. Alcine tried to throw a punch or two, however, Angulo landed multiple clean rights and lefts, forcing referee Doctor Lou Moret to stop the bout in the final seconds of the first round. This was an appropriate stoppage as Alcine was basically out on his feet.
Alfredo Angulo already has wins over the likes of Joel Julio, Harry Joe Yorgey, Gabriel Rosado, Audrey Tsurkan, Richard Gutierrez, and Archak TerMeliksetian. His one loss came to an underrated Kermit Citron. Angulo looks ready for some of the top names of the division, though perhaps a rematch with Citron would answer more questions about Angulo than any title shot.
Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley 26-0 (11 KO’s) also dominated his opponent in the main event, though he took a different approach as Angulo and out boxed Luis Carlos Abregu 29-1 (23 KO’s) over the course of twelve rounds, earning a unanimous decision. Moving up in weight and fighting near his hometown of Palm Springs, Bradley almost shut out Abregu, handing the rugged Argentinean his first loss.
It was a good but not great fight, with Bradley controlling almost every round and Abregu looking for Bradley to make the mistake which never came. Round seven produced some of the most thrilling action of the fight as Abregu went down from an accidental headbutt. The referee gave him time to recover, and the fight continued, however, Abregu still seemed somewhat hurt from the clash of heads. Bradley came in to finish his opponent, obviously believing him hurt. As Abregu clenched and got Bradley in a sort of headlock, Bradley took Alfredo Angulo’s lead and kept throwing, landing on the head of Abregu with both the right and left until Abregu was forced to release Bradley’s head. As Abregu moved away, his legs buckled for a moment and Bradley came on strong again trying to finish off his man. Abregu showed heart and a decent chin and made it through the round.
No one can blame Bradley for moving up in weight and taking this fight as a welterweight despite the abundance of talent in the junior welterweight division – not with the potential for a lucrative matchup with either Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquaio should the two not reach an agreement to fight one another. However, it seems unlikely that Bradley is as of yet a big enough name to make either matchup a certainty. In the post fight interview, Bradley may have made a bit of headway though, as he made a direct challenge to Manny Pacquiao. He also said that he would move back down to light welterweight and take on all the top fighters there – Devon Alexander, Amir Khan and Marcos Maidana.
Bradley may not be the most thrilling fighter in either division stylistically, but he’s certainly among the best and he is willing to fight the best. His last opponents were Lamont Peterson, Nate Campbell, Kendall Holt, Ender Cherry, Junior Witter, and now Luis Carlos Abregu – all a mixture of world champions and undefeated up and comers. This is already an impressive resume and it looks as though it will continue to improve as Bradley makes his case for pound for pound consideration.
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