ALFREDO ANGULO vs JOEL JULIO

Note to readers: I am away from base for the time being trying to resolve a non-boxing matter. I’ll do my best to keep the site updated but there won’t be as many previews as I don’t have access to my files, and I regret to say I am (and will be) missing many fights. So for the readers who have emailed expressing disappointment that I haven’t commented on certain fights, whether previews or reports, this is the reason.

Viewers of HBO’s Boxing After Dark should get nicely warmed up for the heavyweight main event when Alfredo Angulo takes on Joel Julio in the 10-round junior middleweight chief supporting bout.

Angulo was back to his big-hitting best in his last two fights after his disappointing defeat against Kermit Cintron, when the Mexican crowd-pleaser was under par physically.

Julio had a confidence-builder win last October after two successive defeats but while the 25-year-old Colombian boxer is heavy hitting and capable it seems that he has reached his level, a contender type who will likely always come up short against the top-calibre fighters.

When Julio lost to James Kirkland he was overpowered by the intensity and ferocity of his opponent, but he did have his successes. I think he can do well against Angulo, too — but not well enough to win the fight.

Angulo’s style, based on power and pressure, means he is always likely to get caught as he seeks to land his own blows, but he has the chin, heavy hands and fighting heart to prevail when the big punches are flying. Although Angulo isn’t fast, he does have good hand speed, and when he gets an attack flowing, and has the other man backing up, it is difficult to hold him off.

Julio will not be easily beaten. He has made changes that he thinks will see him give an improved performance, saying he has a new team around him and a fresh outlook. “I have a conditioning coach for the first time so I know I will be in the best shape of my life,” he told the media last week. “Having a conditioning coach makes me not only physically better, but mentally better, too. Now, I know I can just go out and fight. I blame all my losses on not being in top shape.”

Yet while I expect a strong showing from Julio, I believe that Angulo is going to be too much for him. Angulo looks the better fighter and the one who will be able to bring more out of himself if a battle of attrition develops. I see the sort of fight in which each man will land and receive punches, perhaps back and forth for a while, but Angulo, I think, will be the one to take control. I see him breaking down Julio, perhaps breaking his heart a bit, too, to win by TKO any time after the start of the seventh.