|
|
|||
|
|
|||
|
Inconsistent is the word that can best describe the past few months of Philly boxing. At first there was a lull in the action due to the holidays where no cards were running. Then ranked fighters began to take surprising losses. Combine that with the fact that others have seen their final days fighting on the Philly club circuit as they pursue bigger and better paydays, we now have a top 10 list full of fresh faces. But you know how it goes in Philly, here today, gone tomorrow. Some will move on to test the outside waters, others might get bumped out by a fighter who hasn't put in enough time yet to make the list. Then there are guys just breaking in who in a few short months could springboard up the ladder. For those of you who don't know the formula to be on the local Philly top 10 pound for pound list, it goes like this. First and foremost you must compete regularly on the Philly circuit. In other words, these are the guys who are making their bones in the business. This list here is for the ticket paying fan who just finished up a rough week of work and wants to go check out the fights. This is your guide of the best you can see around town at venues like The New Alhambra, Blue Horizon or National Guard Armory to name a few. The guys who hail from Philly but fight out of state are on a different list.
|
|||||||||||||
| 1. |
aka "Machine Gun" |
It's actually been a little while since we have seen the man that Peltz
Boxing Promotions hails as one of the top prospects in the world. In his
last fight which took place in November of 2007, Jones needed only three
rounds to dispatch Israel "Pito" Cardona, a former title contender whose
career is on the down slope yet still has some tread left on the tires.
That last match up against a proven veteran was supposed to be a test,
Jones did take a few bumps but overall proved to be too strong. In his
next scheduled bout, it will be Illinois Gilbert Venegas responsibility
to extend Jones beyond the 5th round of a fight, the longest any of his
12 pro matches have gone. Venegas doesn't have a lofty record but always
fights a high level of competition and does pull off the upset on
occasion. Venegas has yet to be knocked out (his lone career KO loss
came by way of cuts). An impressive win here could kick start the Mike
Jones national tour as ESPN will be in the house to televise this fight
which takes place on March 28th in Salamanca, NY. While many
agree that he is the real deal, only two questions remain. How will he
respond if / when he gets rocked and how will he perform under the
bright lights of national TV. At least one of the questions will be
answered so be sure to tune in to catch the Machine Gun in his attempt
to go 13 - 0.
Last Month Ranking #1 |
||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||
| 2. |
aka "The
Untouchable" |
On January 25th, Rasheem Brown returned from a 2 year layoff and knocked
out Jose Medina in three rounds. Now I know, number 2 is an unusually
high slot for a new comer, or in this case a returnee, but his
talent far exceeds many of his peers in the business. The main question
is, will he stick around for awhile? The answer looks to be yes at least
for the short term as Power Productions has announced a main event
against Jameel Wilson in April for their return to the National Guard
Armory. Word is also circulating that some sort of Tri-State title will
also be on the line though it is unclear at the moment. A few more wins
and Brown could find himself back on the national scene. He started his
career 14-0 and created a buzz until suffering consecutive losses then
following up with time on the back burner. That was then and this is now
so enjoy the fighter who arguable has the best one shot knockout power
in the city while he is still here. Last Month Ranking - unranked |
||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||
| 3. |
Henry Lundy
aka
"Hammerin' Hank" |
Hammerin' Hank keeps piling up the wins in his quest to bring the hardware
back home to Philly. His most recent outing came at The Legendary Blue
Horizon taking a unanimous decision over test battle horse Damon
Antoine. Now, it looks like Lundy will bump up the competition as he is
scheduled to be in the swing bout on ESPN, March 23rd against fellow
undefeated lightweight Darnell Jiles in upstate New York. Not many are
willing to take a risk like this and it is a compliment to the sport
when two young fighters, still early in their career take on a challenge
where the odds aren't heavily stacked in their favor. A win here would
be a great start into the next level of competition and paves the way
for more televised fights. Regardless of what happens in this fight,
Lundy has to be commended for taking on a fighter who, on paper, is very
close to him in the rankings. Last Month Ranking # 6 |
||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||
| 4. |
Teon Kennedy
aka "The Technician" |
In a
significant step up from what he has seen before, Teon won a convincing
unanimous decision over Castulo Gonzales of Guatemala in his first 8 rounder as the co-feature on Russell Peltz
latest Telefutura broadcast. Kennedy supporters are
confident citing his extensive amateur background and steady progression
as a pro will be enough to overcome any obstacles that could arise in
the future as it is rumored that even bigger step up fights could be in
line for Kennedy in the near future. A lot of people think he has what it takes to make a deep
run in boxing, even going as far as to hail him as the best prospect in
Philly despite the lack of experience. Time will tell if these
assessments are correct but his win on the 7th is a good start to
something that could hold the publics interest for some time. Last Month Ranking # unranked |
||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||
| 5. |
Lenny DeVictoria
aka
"The Hitman"
|
I know, his record stinks by todays standards of excellence, but hey, look
at who he has fought. Put him in against any Jr. Welter trying to make a
name in Philly and at worst it's a 50/50 fight. Most prospects wouldn't
go anywhere near half the people he stepped in with. For most of 2007, DeVictoria was out of
sight and out of mind on the local scene. But what a difference two
fights make. Things turned around quick after turning in what was
regarded by many as the local fight of the year in December where he
rallied back from an early knockdown to kayo Elad Schmouel. Many people
wanted to see if he would be able to follow up and he did just that with
a hard fought decision victory over a tough customer in Derrick Moon.
Now, instead of taking on assignments out of town as the underdog, now
there are rumors that he has earned a crack at the USBA lightweight
title in April. Now a win there could be really interesting.... Last Month Ranking # unranked
|
||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||
| 6. |
aka "Oaktree"
Heavyweight
|
Over the past few months, Oak-A-Mania has run wild outside of the ring
hyping up crowds with different antics. Inside of the ring he has been
getting the job done too, most recently at The Blue Horizon scoring a
1st round knockout win over Kevin Hood. Since suffering his only career
loss, Oaktree has rebounded to win his last 5 fights. It is always
interesting when Oaktree puts the gloves on. It could be a knockout, an
impromptu wrestling match or even going as far as making an opponent
lose his lunch from a body assault. Though this is all fun and good, his
biggest enemy is father time so look for Oaktree to make a jump up in
the not so distant future. If the boxing thing doesn't work out, Oak
could have a nice future in the sport of pro wrestling. He would
definitely be a crowd favorite. Last Month Ranking # unranked
|
||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||
| 7. |
 Gee Cullmer
aka "The Thoroughbred"
|
There is an old saying that goes something like "the squeaky wheel gets
the grease" but in this case it's more like "it's the quiet ones you
have to watch out for". Gee Cullmer comes to the Blue Horizon with his
time card. He punches in, gets the job done and punches out without a
whole lot of hootin' and hollerin'. His name doesn't get a lot of
attention when talking about the "hottest prospects" but reeling off 8
straight wins is definitely note worthy and in my opinion deserving of a
slot in this months Philly rankings. His style is different from most as
he seems to prefer doing the grunt work, digging inside and fighting in
the trenches. He used these tactics to lead him to a unanimous decision
win over last minute replacement John Terry in early February. It will
be interesting to see who is next as its rumored that Cullmer will
return to action in April at The Blue. Last Month Rank - # unranked |
||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||
| 8. |
 Jules Blackwell
aka
"The Ghost"
|
Philly's next hot division could be down at featherweight and Jules
Blackwell was the first of a talented group to take a chance against one
of his undefeated peers. It was almost a necessary step as in the fall
of '07, Blackwell had a tougher than expected time against the smaller
Arthur Parker. He erased any lingering memories of that fight with a
solid unanimous decision over Paul Fernandez. He followed up with a draw
against known spoiler Lucian Gonzalez in Oaks, PA in a fight where
ringside observers were all over the place with the scoring. There is a
rumored upcoming fight at Madison Square Garden against Japan's Jae-
Sung Lee (7-1) which would, at least on paper, amount to his biggest
test to date. If this holds true, credit Blackwell for his continued
willingness to fight his way out of a crowded bunch against boxers who
aren't big underdogs.
Last Month Ranking # unranked
|
||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||
| 9. |
 Latif Mundy Jr. Middleweight 7 - 0 (3ko's) |
It's been a little while since we have seen Latif Mundy in the ring but
when it comes down to it, he seems to have a lot of tools to work with.
When he is in there fighting, he shows a lot of promise of a fighter who
could make a jump to the next level of pro boxing. The one downfall so
far in his short career are stretches of inactivity. With all that out
of the way Mundy has combined pure boxing skills with a fighters
mentality which lead a lot of his fights to include good two way
exchanges where he usually gets the best of it. When he does come back,
expect him to step up the competition like his fellow Peltz Boxing
stable mates. Last Month Ranking # 8
|
||||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||
| 10. |
Eric Mitchell aka "Murder" Jr. Middleweight 21-4 (10 ko's) |
|
I'll keep it real here, Eric Mitchell belongs on a national stage, plain
and simple. BUT
The final slot on the pound for pound lists usually goes to recognize
someone who pulls off something unexpected. In this case it is no
different as Eric "Murder" Mitchell showed a lot of grit on February
15th in Sewell, NJ. Due to last minute circumstances, Mitchell who is 38
years old was pulled off the shelf after 2 years of inactivity and went
10 full rounds to win a close unanimous decision over a pretty tough
customer in Edwin Vasquez. It wasn't the most exciting fight but the
effort has to be recognized. In reality, his resume makes him over
qualified for a list like this and it is doubtful we will see him back
in the area anytime soon. If he were to stick around, he would
definitely be near the top in no time. It remains to be seen what
happens next but even if it was for one fight, Mitchell showed he is
definitely a world class fighter who deserves a shot to make one last
run.
Last Month Ranking # unranked |
|||||||||||
|
Honorable mentions – Tyric Robinson, Chucky Cavallo, Jameel Wilson, Derek Ennis, Victor Vasquez, John Poore, Dave Brunelli. Joe Christy. |
||||||||||||||
Copyright © 2004 Philly Keith Sports
