Escobedo vs. Hernandez
1/30/2010 - Escobedo/Hernandez
MATCH-UP: Eduardo Escobedo vs. Joksan Hernandez
DIVISION: featherweight � 10 Rounds
FIGHT DATE: Saturday, January 30, 2010 @ 9pm EST on FOX
LOCATION: Restaurante Arroyo Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico
RECORD: Escobedo: 26(19)-3(1)-0 Hernandez: 17(10)-1(0)-0
BETTING LINE: Escobedo -225 Hernandez +185 Over 9.5 -275 Under 9.5 +235
RATING:
(Rating Explanation...)
Fight Summary | The way I see it | How I would bet on the fight
Fight Summary:
This is an excellent featherweight match-up with Eduardo Escobedo taking on Joksan Hernandez in Mexico on Saturday night. I believe the winner should crack the top 10 in the division and should inch closer to a title shot.
Escobedo is a classy boxer type with a solid amateur background. He’s tall, fast has skill and can crack a bit. He did suffer a horrendous setback when he was cold cocked by 6-11 Moises Zamudio half a decade ago. But Escobedo got right back to it, banking another 7 wins and earning a title shot against then champion Daniel Ponce De Leon.
Escobedo fought fairly well but De Leon was too strong and grizzled, pounding out a deserved decision. He’s put together 5 wins since then, including a decision over capable Miguel Roman.
Hernandez is a tough young Mexican fighter that has been on a good run since dropping a decision to Filipino fireplug Bernabe Concepcion in 2006. I don’t think Hernandez is as smooth a boxer as Escobedo but he’s strong, tough and determined. He puts forth a workman like effort and will make things difficult for a boxer.
After the Concepcion loss, he took some time to regroup beginning against in early 2008. He turned back a decent lot of fighters, including rugged perennial contender Hector Velasquez in his penultimate fight. In his less fight, he stopped capable veteran Jorge Cardenas.
This should be an excellent contest between the slick boxing Escobedo against the tough pressure that Hernandez will bring. I think Escobedo is very good but I think he’s lacking perhaps just a small portion of mettle. I thought he had the goods to beat De Leon but he let the much cruder De Leon push him around and rough him up. Of course, De Leon can do that to most guys but Escobedo appeared to gave the tools to deal with it but didn’t or couldn’t. And of course, the loss to Zamudio sticks out as well.
I think this is s fight that could go either way. And I’m fairly certain that Hernandez will force Escobedo to fight every step of the way. It is interesting to note that Hernandez competed at 122 until 2006 when he lost to Escobedo. Then he moved up to 126 and took on beat and Velasquez at 130, a full 2 divisions above where he used to be. This fight is set for 126 pounds which will suit Hernandez much better than 122.
I see Hernandez as “live” dog and believe he will give a very good account of himself. And this is a fight he could take. I’m going with Hernandez and his fortitude to pull it in a very close call.
How I would bet on the fight:
I’m putting 1.5% of the BoxingForecast fund on a Hernandez win. Betting line came from thegreek.com. I give Hernandez about a 45-50% chance of a won. If the Hernandez line slip below +125 I would probably pass on the wager.
