Rocha vs. Curiel: Someone’s getting tossed off the 147 ladder

The most intriguing matchup for this coming weekend is Alexis Rocha squaring off against prospect Raul Curiel this Saturday streaming live on DAZN. Four years ago, Rocha was in a similar spot Curial’s in as Raul attempted to climb the ladder at welterweight from prospect to full-blown contender. At 16-0, Alexis Rocha was defeated by then unbeaten Rashidi Ellis. Rocha ever so slowly managed to get back closer to title contention range rattling off 7 straight victories only to be stopped in 6 rounds by Giovanni Santillan.

Back to the drawing board, Rocha has now won two fights in a row. He needs to prove this Saturday he still belongs in the conversation as contender with hopes of something bigger. His opponent’s record is 15-0 with 13 wins coming by knockout. Raul Curiel is stepping up to his toughest opponent to date facing an experience fighter in Rocha.

Will Curiel pass the test is the question? To answer that question before we get the results in the ring one has to use eye test in a few fights on his resume to decide. Curiel’s best opposition on paper was vet Brad Solomon and Kendo Castaneda. Although a clean win via stoppage in the 7th round, Jeremy Ramos gave Raul some quality, hard-earned rounds.

Raul competed in the 2016 Olympian for team Mexico. He has good pop on his punches throwing 2 and 3 punch combinations. Curiel attacks the body and head, while landing short hooks and upper cuts on the inside. Raul has decent footwork, able to take a half or full step back using angles to get out of range. Curiel doesn’t move on the outside throughout fight but more than capable of using his feet when fighters try to attack especially with lead punches.

How will Raul defend himself when forced to the ropes versus a more advanced fighter like Rocha? In what amounts to basically a 50-50 prediction outcome the betting odds actually place Rocha as a slight underdog. Alexis is definitely a solid value bet sitting anywhere from +100 to +110. In a pick’em matchup this boxing junkie leans in favor of Raul just by a hair.

My Official Prediction is Raul Curiel by Split-Decision.

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Side Note: 154-pound Contender Charles Conwell is on the card and if successful will be looking for a legit opponent in 2025.

Written by Chris Carlson Host/Producer of The Rope A Dope Radio Podcast Available at www.blogtalkradio.com/ropeadoperadio Follow on Twitter @RopeADopeRadio