JUAN CARLOS BURGOS vs RICARDO CASTILLO

Unbeaten featherweight Juan Carlos Burgos is closing in on a world title chance. If he can beat veteran Ricardo Castillo in their WBC elimination match on Saturday he will presumably be in position for a championship opportunity or, at worst, a final eliminator.

Burgos, a 22-year-old from Tijuana, was seen on Friday Night Fights in January when he wore down trial horse Juan Carlos Martinez for a stoppage win in the last round. Although Burgos was winning all the way he couldn’t get Martinez out of the fight until late, which makes one question his punching power although maybe his opponent simply had an exceptional chin — at times Burgos was landing flush right hands and nothing was happening.

I think it fair to say that Burgos has been making steady but unspectacular progress. He steps up in class to meet Castillo, who boxed for the IBF featherweight title in his last bout, a three-round technical draw when a head clash left Cristobal Cruz cut too badly to continue.

On Saturday we could have one of those trains-going-in-different-directions fights. Castillo has been boxing professionally for 13 years and he has had some tough fights. He has a big advantage in experience, though, and Burgos hasn’t always looked sparkling, so this could be a long, hard struggle for the younger man.

Burgos seems to be a bit quicker and stronger than Castillo, and he is the taller, rangier boxer. I am expecting Castillo to bring pressure but I think that Burgos can control the bout with his jab, right hands and movement. Burgos isn’t what you could call a big hitter (just two stoppage wins in his last seven bouts) but I think he can pepper Castillo, possibly landing often enough to get his second successive late-rounds TKO win).