This Saturday night, cruiserweight Yunier Dorticos faces Matiuesz Masternak while IBF bantamweight champion Emannuel Rodriguez defends his title against undefeated Australian counterpart Jason Moloney as part of a World Boxing Super Series double-header in Orlando, Florida
Former WBA champion Dorticos featured in last season’s tournament where he certainly made an indellible impression on boxing fans. After producing a supremely chilling second-round knockout victory over Dmitry Kudryashov, the Cuban was halted by then-IBF titleholder Murat Gassiev in the last round of February’s thrilling semi-final, in what was a potential fight-of-the-year candidate.
Dorticos – as exemplified by his “K.O. Doctor” nickname – is an upright boxer-puncher with notoriously heavy hands. Like many of his compatriots, he is based in Miami and only one of his fights, against Colombian Edison Miranda, has ever gone the distance.
In addition to his obvious punching power, Dorticos is also an incredibly tough and relentless operator; attributes that were readily apparent in the Gassiev fight during which he absorbed a series of punishing shots throughout the fight before finally being felled in the twelfth. Despite the heavy knockdown, Dorticos also demonstrated his immense heart after getting up and surviving two additional knockdowns before the referee’s judicious intervention.
The former WBA champion was visibly distraught following his unsuccessful attempt at unifying the belts and subsequent elimination from the tournament. Indeed, the crushing nature of his loss – devastating on two levels – meant that it was somewhat questionable whether he even would return this year.
Not only is Dorticos returning to competition outright, but he is also competing once again for the Muhammad Ali trophy and will undoubtedly be hoping to replicate his spectacular performance in last year’s quarter-final with a similar win over Masternak.
In Masternak, he faces someone who is probably less dangerous but arguably more durable than Kudryashov. The Polish veteran impressed with his December 2015 showing against Tony Bellew – a majority decision loss – and in the eyes of some observers, he was extremely unlucky to not escape with at least a draw.
The winner will be facing Chicago’s undefeated contender Andrew Tabiti, who hustled his way to a unanimous point’s victory over Ruslan Fayfer on away soil in a thoroughly scrappy affair, last weekend.
Meanwhile, IBF champion Emmanuel Rodriguez almost immediately opted to enter the bantamweight tournament after winning the vacant belt in May at London’s 02 Arena, on the Bellew-Haye rematch undercard, showcasing his skills in front of a significant audience.
A patient and surgical fighter, Rodriguez wowed audiences with the seemingly effortless manner of his victory over Paul Butler, soundly outboxing and hurting his opponent on a number of occasions en route to a lopsided unanimous decision victory.
If he can defeat Jason Moloney, as most expect him to, he will be facing the formidable Naoya Inoue in the semi-final. The Japanese fighter – nicknamed ‘The Monster’ – is widely considered to be one of the best fighters on the planet and a win over him would surely consolidate Rodriguez’s position as one of Puerto Rico’s boxing superstars, even at this stage of his career.
Article by: Navi Singh
Follow Navi on Twitter at: @DarkMan________