ANTONIO ESCALANTE vs CORNELIUS LOCK

Antonio Escalante has looked devastating in his last two fights, running right over Mike Oliver and Gary Stark Jr. in three rounds each. At the age of 24, the always-exciting 122-pounder has matured into a formidable fighter, and his 10-round main event on Friday Night Fights against Cornelius Lock is eagerly awaited.

Escalante, born and raised in Juarez, Mexico, will be appearing in his adopted hometown of El Paso for the first time in almost two years and the crowd at the Don Haskins Center should be buzzing with anticipation when he makes his way to the ring for what I consider to be a serious test.

Lock is the underdog, but the 30-year-old Detroit southpaw has the sharp-boxing skills that can make this a difficult fight for Escalante.

This is Lock’s first fight since he stopped Roger “Speedy” Gonzalez in the last round in an entertaining bout on Friday Night Fights. That was in June of last year. I wouldn’t say that Lock has been avoided, but promoters of potential champions usually aren’t looking to match their fighters against a savvy, speedy southpaw who can box and punch. Obviously, promoter Golden Boy Promotions has confidence in Escalante.

Escalante has been showing improved boxing skills in his recent fights and paying more attention to defence, although he is a fighter at heart. I believe he has learned from his fight with Mauricio Pastrana, when he had his man down and seemingly on the way out but got caught and hurt in an overeager follow-up attack.

The wins over Oliver and Stark look good, but it could be said that neither man had been the same after getting badly knocked out. In Lock, Escalante meets an opponent who has stopped his last two opponents and who sees himself as a contender.

Lock’s inactivity is a concern, though, and he has never been the most durable of fighters, having been stopped in all three of his losses, although his last two defeats were against world-class fighters in Cristobal Cruz and Mario Santiago. He scored well in the early rounds against Cruz but was worn down and overpowered by the busy-punching Mexican fighter; Lock had an excellent opening round against Santiago but after this he was beaten up by the more powerful Puerto Rican boxer in an all-southpaw fight.

Lock seems to have benefited from a 22-month layoff after the fight with Santiago, and he has looked better than he has ever done in his last two fights. Lock was impressive in knocking out a previously unbeaten fighter, Juan Garcia, in four rounds in one of those man-versus-boy type of fights, and then he showed grit and determination when outpunching and outlasting the bigger, heavier Roger Gonzalez.

The Gonzalez fight was close on the scorecards and Lock needed to win the last round to win the fight. He did more than win the round — he dropped Gonzalez twice to force a stoppage.

Lock weighed 130 and 127 pounds respectively for his last two fights, whereas the Escalante fight is made at a catchweight of 124 pounds. It has been almost two years since Lock was as light as this for a fight, and I am not sure how well the match weight will suit him. Lock’s trainer, Roger Mayweather, is known for bringing his fighters into the ring in top condition, though, so I am assuming the 124 pounds contracted weight will not be a problem.

While Lock hasn’t boxed in 13 months, my understanding is that he has been in the gym, and he provided southpaw sparring for Ricky Hatton and Elio Rojas before their fights with Manny Pacquiao and Takahiro Aoh.

Escalante has to be considered the solid favourite — a rising star fighting in front of his home crowd — but I see a definite risk in this fight. If Escalante gets a bit carried away and tries too hard to please the crowd, he could run into a right hook or a left hand that could put him in trouble. Escalante is the bigger puncher, but Lock has fast hands and he hits crisply and accurately, and I am not entirely confident about Escalante’s chin — he was knocked out by Pastrana, of course, and Jose Hernandez had him on the floor in a fiercely exciting fight. Also, I recall Escalante getting wobbled in the last round by the journeyman Jose Beranza.

Friday's fight is one that Escalante should win, but a little voice keeps telling me there is a real possibility of an upset. OK, I’ll listen to the little voice and make a tentative lean towards Lock. Whoever wins, though, I’ll be surprised if this fight goes the distance.