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By Matt Andrzejewski
THREE PUNCH COMBO – This coming weekend is loaded with fight cards. On these various cards, a number of prospects will be in action. Perhaps the best prospect is a 154- pound fighter named Souleymane Cissokho (9-0, 6 KO’s).
Like many of today’s top prospects, Cissokho had a deep and successful amateur career. He represented France at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro where he took home the Bronze Medal in the welterweight division.
Cissokho, now 28, turned pro shortly after the Olympics in January of 2017 with a first round knockout of Renato Goman in France. A year and a half later. in just his seventh professional fight, Cissokho found himself in the ring with the much more experienced Carlos Molina, a former world title-holder. Somewhat surprisingly, Cissokho dominated Molina. He won all 10 rounds on all three scorecards. To put this performance in a bit of context, earlier this year Molina gave another top prospect, Abass Baraou, a very formidable challenge in dropping a close 12-round decision.
Cissokho made his US debut on the undercard of the Joshua-Ruiz fight at Madison Square Garden where he won a wide eight round unanimous decision over veteran Vladimir Hernandez.
So why do I think Cissokho is such an elite prospect? For starters, his amateur background has served him very well, polishing his skillset. In particular, he is very well balanced and fluid. Moreover, he fights with a certain poise and patience that is rarely seen in young fighters.
But in addition to being well-schooled, Cissokho has plenty of natural athleticism and possesses above average hand speed for the division. And then there is the power. He has heavy handed power in both hands, particularly his right hand, and has already scored some highlight reel stoppages.
One final note: For a young pro, he is already a very dedicated and committed body puncher. He often finishes his combinations by attacking his opponent’s rib cage. Among today’s top prospects, I would put Cissokho among the best body punchers.
On Saturday, Cissokho will face off against veteran Jose Carlos Paz (23-9-1, 13 KO’s) on the undercard of the Tony Yoka-Alexander Dimitrenko heavyweight fight in Antibes, France. I certainly am going to find a way to catch Cissokho’s fight and encourage all boxing fans to do the same. In my view, he is a future star.
A Classic ShoBox Tilt
ShoBox returns on Friday with a tripleheader from the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, WA. While a pair of heavyweight bouts are acting as the co-headliners, it is the opening bout between featherweight prospects Giovanni Mioletti (16-0, 7 KO’s) and Luis Porozo (14-0, 7 KO’s) that best illustrates what this series is all about.
I’m guessing not many fans had heard of Mioletti or Porozo before this fight was announced and this is one of the reasons why I love ShoBox and hope this series continues on for many years. Mioletti and Porozo will now get the chance to showcase their skills on a large platform and the winner will see his career take off into a new stratosphere. Just look at how many previously unknown fighters have fought on the ShoBox series and used it as a launching pad for a very successful career.
Mioletti is a former Chicago Golden Gloves champion who turned pro in 2016. He is a slick southpaw with good athleticism and a solid skillset. From the video I have watched on him, he likes to work behind the right jab using his feet to set up angles to fire off combinations. Almost everything he throws is in combination and he is certainly a volume puncher who prefers to lead rather than counter. Defensively, he is slick but has a tendency to keep his right low.
Porozo is a former 2008 Olympian from Ecuador who turned pro in 2015. He likes to press forward as the aggressor, but is also more of a natural counterpuncher. When his opponents lead, Porozo will let his hands fly and he does possess fairly decent hand speed to land those counters. He may not possess one-punch power but is fairly heavy-handed and his punches can take a cumulative effect on his opponents. One issue in his game though is that he sometimes throws his punches a bit too wide, taking some steam off his shots and in the process leaving himself exposed to be hit clean.
I think this is going to be a good entertaining fight featuring a very interesting contrast of styles. Whoever can impose his style the best is going to win and I look forward to seeing which one of these fighters takes the next step up in his career.
Under The Radar Fight
PBC on FS1 returns on Saturday from the Armory in Minneapolis, MN with a card headlined by rising welterweight contender Jamal James (25-1, 12 KO’s) taking on former world champion Antonio DeMarco (33-7-1, 24 KO’s). The prelim portion of the show includes a very interesting welterweight fight between former top prospects Bryant Perrella (16-2, 13 KO’s) and Domonique Dolton (22-2-1, 13 KO’s).
Perrella, once a very highly touted prospect who seemed destined to one day win a world title, has struggled since upping his level of competition and is only 2-2 in his last four fights. Blessed with natural physical abilities, Perrella’s talent has never been questioned. But his chin and stamina have failed him in some recent performances. Now, at age 30, can he get things turned around?
Dolton, a protégé of the late Emanuel Steward, likewise seemed destined for greatness. Blessed with natural athleticism and blazing speed, many thought Dolton would carry the torch as Detroit’s next great champion. However, in a similar way to Perrella, once Dolton upped his level of competition he began to struggle. When pressed in tougher fights, his confidence seemed to be lacking and as a result he went into somewhat of a defensive shell, not moving his hands with as much frequency. Now, at 29, can he find confidence in his natural abilities and come close to living up to those once enormous expectations?
Perrella and Dolton are oozing with natural talent, but both also have major question marks which makes this a fascinating fight with the result hard to forecast. One thing is certain and that is the winner will get another chance to live up to his hype whereas the loser likely heads to permanent journeyman status.
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