NKOSINATHI JOYI vs SAMMY GUTIERREZ

Unbeaten records can be misleading, as we have seen on a number of instances this year, but South African 105-pounder Nkosinathi Joyi does look a bit special. The 25-year-old has dominated his opponents and lately has been blowing them out in short order. If Joyi doesn’t win early, though, it seems that he has no trouble going the championship distance, with two comfortable 12-round decision wins in his 17-0 record.

On Friday, Joyi faces the toughest test of his career when he defends his IBO minimumweight title against the more seasoned Mexican champion, Sammy Gutierrez, a 22-year-old whose only loss in his last 14 fights was on a split decision to unbeaten fellow-Mexican Raul Garcia, who has just captured the IBF title. Gutierrez had previously boxed a draw with Garcia. He clearly knows how to fight.

Joyi has the advantage of boxing at home in the Eastern Cape in South Africa. He is a fast southpaw who can bang with either hand. In his last fight he destroyed a Filipino fighter named Gabriel Pumar who had won and lost in two previous bouts in South Africa. Joyi’s problem is that he doesn’t have a big-time promoter. He has found it difficult to get bouts, with just one fight in the last 19 months — the one-round knockout win over Pumar last November.

Gutierrez is obviously a big step up for Joyi. The Mexican fighter’s record shows some close wins over fighters with mediocre records but this can be a bit misleading because I am told that Mexican fighters sometimes have many more wins than their records show. I believe they call these unlisted bouts ranchero fights. A Mexican boxer with a lot of losses on his record can still be a good fighter. The talent pool is deep and there are few if any soft touches for a lot of these fighter. Gutierrez’s two close fight with the world champ Garcia are, to me, what stand out on his record.

Yet while I am sure that Gutierrez has ability and is likely to give Joyi his toughest fight, I am going to go with the South African in this fight. He is boxing at home, he is a southpaw and he seems to be the complete package — boxing skill, speed and punching power. The biggest worry I have about him is his inactivity, but once the fight gets started and he gets a round or two under his belt I am assuming he will be fine.

With two British judges and one from South Africa, there probably will not be a controversial decision should the fight go to the scorecards, but as ever in these situations it is reasonable to assume that any really tight, either-way rounds will most likely go to the local fighter.

I can envisage a fight similar to the one in which Rayonta Whitfield beat Manuel Vargas in April, with the taller, more athletic, faster boxer having the advantage over a competent Mexican fighter who isn’t quite able to land enough punches to sway the fight in his favour.