This Friday on ESPN’s ‘Friday Night Fight Nights’ Mike Tyson puts on his first boxing event at the Turning Stone Resort Casino, Verona, NY.
By Niall Doran
Headlining Mike Tyson’s first ever promotional card this weekend will be an intriguing super featherweight match up, when Dominican IBF Champion Argenis Mendez puts his belt on the line against Canadian Arash Usmanee, a man from Afghanistan but now hailing from Montreal. Both men come into the fight with similar enough records in terms of wins, number of fights and knockout percentages. The champion Mendez is 21-2 with 11 wins coming by way of KO. The challenger is a similar 20-1 with 10 victories via KO. However Usmanee is actually coming off his first career defeat coming into this fight, which could make him a wounded animal for Mendez to deal with. Back on April fools day just gone Arash dropped a unanimous decision to the very talented and undefeated Cuban – Rances Barthelemy. No doubt he will be using this night as fuel and motivation coming into Friday night’s world title challenge. Stylistically there is not much in the fight either. The tale of the tape reads both men as being virtually identical in height and reach, with the champion perhaps having just an inch in height on the challenger. Both are orthodox fighters who can box and fight which should make for a fascinating and explosive encounter for those in attendance at Turning Stone Resort Casino. Perhaps a slight edge would have to be given to the champion who comes into the match a younger and possibly fresher fighter, who may have mixed in slightly better class as regards his prior opposition and also may have slightly more polished skills and footwork in comparison to Usmanee. That said, this is boxing and as we all know anything can happen, especially with two super featherweight fire crackers like these two combatants! One thing is for sure the fans will certainly be the real winner. A superb main event indeed to mark Mike Tyson’s first promotional event.
Also featuring on the card as the co-main event attraction is a clash of two electrifying southpaws for the interim WBA featherweight title, when big hitting Dominican Claudio Marrero takes on murderous punching Jesus Cuellar of Argentina. Both fighters come into the contest young, hungry and can certainly both hit. Cuellar is the slightly older (age 26) and more experienced of the two with a record of 22-1-18KOs, as opposed to the man that will stand in front of him, Marrero (age 24) who is undefeated in his campaign thus far at 14-0-11KOs. This combination of youth and explosive power again promises fireworks for those in attendance and watching live on ESPN. When it comes to their styles, both are southpaws which might cancel each other out a little bit and perhaps lead to some big left hand bombs been exchanged and landed in periods of the bout. This fight has a potential knockout written all over it with these two South American warriors who will no doubt battle passionately for the right to be called world champion. Marrero perhaps the ever so slightly fresher and hungrier of the two, maybe just maybe I’d give him a slight edge, but this is a real pick um fight which could go either way.
Friday’s card at the magnificent Turning Stone Resort Casino has all the make up of being a spectacular event for Mike Tyson’s first promotional venture, a metaphor for the man himself who always delivered excitement in the ring.
Enjoy fight fans!
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