June 27, 2007
www.boxingtalk.com
ONE ON ONE WITH KASSIM OUMA
By Brad Cooney

Boxingtalk caught up with middleweight contender Kassim Ouma, and got his thoughts on his upcoming showdown with Contender series 1 champion, Sergio Mora. Ouma talks about how he matches up against Mora, and also throws some additional names out there as possible future opponents in the welterweight division.

BC – Thanks for getting back on Boxingtalk Kassim.

KO – Thank you for having me back on Boxingtalk, always good to be here with you guys.

BC – Sergio Mora informed Boxingtalk that he has signed his contract, can you update us on whether or not you have signed yours yet?

KO – Well since Mora signed his contract, that's what I was waiting for. I want to thank Mora for signing the contract. Mora is a good fighter, he is undefeated, and I am ready to get back in there to fight for sure, I am ready for Mora.

BC – So have you signed your contract yet?

KO – Well since Mora signed, it's a wrap. It's a wrap, that what I was waiting for, I am ready... I am ready for Mora. He is a big guy, I fought a big guy last time, and I am fighting a big guy again, and I am ready.

BC – How do you see yourself matching up against Mora, especially at 160lbs?

KO – Well Sergio is a big guy, he's undefeated, he's a good fighter. I am hungry though, and I am trying to be the champion of the world. I myself, I am here and I am trying to make it, I am trying to be champion of the world.

BC – Do you think 160lbs is a bit risky? That's not your optimal fighting weight.

KO – Well I fought the champion of the world last time at 160lbs, and I'll do it again. I will fight one of the best at 160lbs again. If Sugar Shane Mosley will give me a fight at 147lbs, I'll take that. If Miguel Cotto will give me a fight, I'll take that too, that's where the money is, I am chasing the money.

BC – Did you see Miguel Cottos vs Zab Judah, if so what are your thoughts on that fight?

KO – I think it was a good fight, but the low blows stuff didn't help. My man Zab was doing good, but any chance, if can get a chance to bring that victory back against Miguel Cotto at 147lb, I'll do it.

BC – How do you see yourself matching up against a Miguel Cotto?

KO – I won't even say anything until Miguel Cotto gives me a fight. I'll fight him, Shane Mosley, Margarito, any of those guys at 147lbs that wants to do it, I will make it happen.

BC – Back to Sergio Mora, what does Mora bring into the ring that concerns you?

KO – He's a big guy, he's the contender champion, he's undefeated, so I don't take him lightly.

BC – What does a win against Mora do for your career, in your words?

K0 – I mean for my career, it will be good for my country, and my fans. He's the contender champion, so I will be happy with a win against him.

BC – You're a guy that throws a thousand punches per fight, were you trained to fight that way, or is that just a natural style?

K0 – It just comes naturally, I go hard, especially fighting a Middleweight.

BC – I know that you're busy, so is there anything that you would like to say to your fans in closing?

K0 – I want to thank my fans all over the world, I want to thank Sergio Mora for taking the fight, and I want to thank Boxingtalk!

Ouma throws about 100 punches per round. Sergio has not fought in over a year. I hope he is in tremendous shape because the Ugandan is a stamina work horse.

Ouma Sergio
5'8" 6'0"

Reach
70' 74'



This is from a compubox preview of his fight with JT. Evidence of just how busy he is in the ring....



Throwing out his decision loss to Roman Karmazin (he was sick and out of shape) Ouma averaged 104 punches thrown per round in ten of his junior middleweight fights tracked by CompuBox. He landed 36% of those punches, including 39% of his power shots. A fighter throwing that many punches often faces heavy artillery in return, yet opponents landed less than 30% of their total punches. It's not all power punching for Ouma either, as he landed 29% of his 33 jabs thrown per round, nine more than the 154-lb. average.

In August, Ouma warmed up for Taylor with a unanimous decision win over the previously undefeated Sechew Powell, averaging, yes, 104 punches thrown per round. He landed 380 total punches (36%), including 254 power punches (43%). Powell was able to find, but never hurt Ouma, landing 319 total punches (32 per round, 13 more than the jr. middleweight
avg.).


-----------
Ouma has some life story....

Ouma bio

Kassim Ouma carries the nickname "The Dream", but his struggles early in life - dealing with situations unfathomable to most people - may have been better defined as a nightmare. Luckily, the IBF junior middleweight world champion persevered through the rough times and has emerged as one of boxing's rising stars, an exciting warrior who has captured the imaginations of fight fans with his talent and his story - a rare combination these days.

Kassim was born on December 12, 1978 in Kampala, Uganda, and lived the life of a normal child in his homeland until the age of seven, when he was kidnapped out of school and inducted into the National Resistance Army. For the next ten years of his life, Ouma was forced to fight in the war-torn nation, experiencing horrors no child or adult should have to see.

"That's my past, and I don't want to remember," said Ouma to a reporter in 2002. "Thinking about my mother and dreaming about military stuff, it gets me crazy."

To help him escape from the military, Kassim turned to boxing as a teenager. "I didn't know anything about boxing, but the name they always called, was 'Ayub Kalule, Ayub Kalule,'" said Ouma of the former junior middleweight champion, probably best remembered for his gallant loss to Sugar Ray Leonard. "Now hopefully back home, the kids are saying, 'Kassim Ouma, Kassim Ouma.'"

In 1998, after a solid amateur career (60-3) in Uganda, "The Dream" finally had his chance, and the 19-year-old defected to the United States during a national team tour, and was granted political asylum. "The United States is like everything," said Ouma. "It is like the home of professional boxing."

Ouma would have to start again in the US, but he was determined to succeed. After traveling from gym to gym, Kassim eventually settled in Florida, where he made his pro debut on July 10, 1998 with a first round KO of Napoleon Middlebrooks.

Five more victories, all by knockout (three in the first round) followed, and in his seventh bout, on January 15, 1999, Ouma was put in a 12 round Florida state title bout against Victor Ramos. Ramos only made it through five rounds with the hard-punching Ugandan though, and Kassim had his first championship belt. It wouldn't be his last.

In his next bout, against Emiliano Valdez, Ouma went the distance for the first time, winning a six round decision, and then took out Angel Villegas in eight rounds.

Kassim's tenth fight would produce a fluke first round TKO loss to Agustin Silva on November 20, 1999, but "The Dream" didn't crawl into a shell after his first defeat - he came back six months later and stopped highly regarded prospect Alex Bunema (17-1) in just four rounds.

With the boxing world turned on it's ear by Ouma's win over Bunema, Kassim just kept impressing fans and insiders by defeating 12-0 prospect Kuvanych Toygonbayev, getting a technical draw with James Coker, and outpointing contenders Tony Marshall and Verno Phillips (a bout which set a Compubox record for most punches thrown) in successive fights. Wins over Pedro Ortega and Michael Lerma added to the mystique of this young prospect, and when he stopped Jason Papillion in eight rounds to win the USBA light middleweight crown in May of 2002, Ouma had made the leap from prospect to contender.

But seven months after beating Papillion, Ouma suffered another major setback in his life when he was randomly shot in the abdomen in December of 2002, and forced to undergo surgery. Not surprisingly, given his resilient history, Ouma was back in the gym three months later, and fans were wondering when Ouma would get his shot at the world title. These please got even louder as Kassim further cleaned out the 154-pound weight class by beating contenders Angel Hernandez, Carlos Bojorquez, and Juan Carlos Candelo in 2003 and 2004.

Finally, Ouma got his world title opportunity on October 2, 2004, and he made the most of it, outpointing old rival Verno Phillips over 12 rounds to win the IBF middleweight championship of the world.

In his first defense, Kassim was outstanding in scoring a clear cut unanimous decision over hard-punching contender Kofi Jantuah on January 29, 2005.

With a life story that could someday be made into a feature film, Kassim Ouma has truly achieved his dreams in life. He may even want to play the starring role in the movie of his life.

"If I wasn't boxing," said Ouma, "if I was in Uganda I'd probably still be a soldier now. But in America, if I wasn't boxing I'd be in the movies. The big screen. Action, drama, I got it all."

It's the type of tale that captures sports at its best, and in the process has made Kassim an inspiration to fans around the world.

"All my fans pray for me," he said. "I get letters from all over the world now. From New Zealand, Australia, countries in Africa."

And he's not bitter about his past, only thankful for what he has today. You can see it in his ever-present smile.

"Man, I leave most of those things to the man upstairs and I always thank him," he said.

Kassim Ouma has been featured in magazines and newspapers around the world, and was the subject of a compelling segment on HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel series.

He is the father of three children.

canadastarboxing.com's description of Ouma...


Style

Versatile, fast-fisted southpaw throws punches in bunches and fights at a breakneck pace
Prefers to apply constant pressure and outwork opponents


Strengths

Confidence
Quality of opposition
Aggressive, crowd-pleasing style
Good offensive skills
Physically strong and tough
Stamina
Durable and determined
Willing to fight anybody to prove he is the world's best boxer
Conditioning


Weaknesses

Lacks big punching power and does not always put opponents away when the opportunity presents itself
Defense
Has problems securing fights
Susceptible to body shots

Ouma returns to ring against an American
Thursday, 21st June, 2007
Former World champion Ouma will be back in the ring against an American fighter
By Phillip Corry
www.newvision.co.ug

FORMER world junior middleweight champion Kassim “The Dream” Ouma, has finally landed a fight this year after turning down one and having another cancelled.

Ouma has signed a contract to fight undefeated American Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora on September 15 at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada.

The Florida based Ouma has once again moved up the weights, to the 160 pounds (Middleweight division).

The flashy Ugandan pugilist who last fought in this division in December against WBC and WBO middleweight champion Jermain “Bad Intentions” Taylor, will come up against a much taller opponent once again, standing at 6’ 0.

Ouma’s opponent goes for the fight with a record of 19(4 KOs) 0-0.
Mora is ranked number five by the World Boxing Council in the 160 pound division.

Ouma was in the country in April together with his manager Tom Moran who has been looking for a fight for the talented boxer.

The former IBF junior middleweight champion turned down a support fight on the Bernard Hopkins/Winky Wright clash that is slated for July 15.

Ouma declined because his promoters Golden Boy promotions were giving him little money.

Ouma also had a planned fight against another American Ishe “Sugar Shay” Smith, fall through after Smith mutually cut his contract with Golden Boy promotions recently after falling to agree on some issues.

The Latin Snake Returns: Sergio Mora Prepares to Take On Kassim Ouma
By Mark Murray-July 18, 2007
www.ringsidereport.com

The Contender television show season one winner, Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora is finally set to fight after almost a year layoff when he fights middleweight contender Kassim Ouma in September. Although Mora’s post “Contender” career has to this point been a success, some have questioned his choices in fights as well as his heart.

Mora, 19-0, 4 KO’s, earned his stardom by beating Peter Manfredo, JR., via unanimous decision and becoming champion of season one of The Contender reality television boxing show. Some thought that “The Contender” season one title fight was close, particularly Sylvester Stallone who was lobbying for a rematch the entire fight, therefore there would eventually be a Mora vs. Manfredo rematch.

The two squared up once again in Mora’s backyard, the Staples Center in Los Angeles, and once again the two fought a close, competitive match, only to get the same outcome with Mora being victorious via split decision. Some may have thought that the fight was won by Manfredo but Mora proved himself by defeating a top level fighter two times in a row. As for most boxers, after defeating a top level fighter they usually look to fight an elite opponent. For Mora, not so much.

Following the Manfredo rematch Mora then went on to fight mediocre at best Archak TerMeliksetian in a ten round fight that would be shown on ESPN. Mora dominated the fight and showed his superiority to the weaker fighter TerMeliksetian winning by way of technical knock out in the seventh round. Good competition or not, Mora was still undefeated and on the hunt for success.

Mora was back in the ring just three months later, fighting a much better fighter than TerMeliksetian in Eric Regan. Regan was up to the challenge unlike the previous competitor, as he battled through the entire fight and lasted each of the ten rounds against the talented Mora. Regan was even so confident that his trainer lifted him up after the final bell, almost a Rocky moment, as they both celebrated in victory. However, victory was not to be had for Regan in the fight. Although Regan threw an extremely high amount of punches, he failed to land most of his punches and the judges saw this. Mora was more precise with his punches and also threw a good amount himself. Mora even taunted his opponent during the fight, using his foot to tell Regan to “tow the line” and step up to Mora. Mora’s confidence and talent helped to defeat Regan and once again Mora defeated an opponent and remained undefeated.

So what was next for “The Latin Snake?” Well in terms of boxing, nothing for a while. Mora’s last fight was against Regan, which was approximately eleven months ago. Even though boxers tend to take off a decent amount of time in between their fights, anybody will tell you that eleven months is definitely a long break between fights. With Mora’s popularity and talent you would figure that he would certainly be able to line up fights, particularly fights with popular fighters. Mora would soon have his chance.

Mora was set to fight WBO and WBC Middleweight Champion Jermain Taylor in May. It was going to be his first big fight. Along with the big fight credentials Mora would receive, he would also be fighting for not only one title belt, but two. It would be Mora’s toughest challenge yet, fighting a world class boxer who has defeated fighters such as Bernard Hopkins. It was to be Mora’s official coming out party, letting the Mora haters know that “The Contender” title was not a fraudulent title. Along with all of this, Mora was also set to have a huge payday on an HBO televised event. With all of the positives that could have come out of the fight for Mora he ultimately decided not to take the fight. Mora did give his reasoning on why he didn’t fight Taylor.

“I am not blaming Jermain Taylor, and a lot of people are blaming me. There is a team behind the fighter, and to set the record straight, I didn't turn the fight down, my team turned the fight down,” said Mora.

“More of a concern for me was when we first started talking about the venue,” said Mora. Mora said he was originally told the fight would be in Las Vegas or Los Angeles but the fight location eventually changed to other various cities and eventually ended up in Memphis.

“I want this to be a huge fight for me and for him, just not in his hometown. It has nothing to do with Memphis not being a fight town, it's a great fight town, but I don't want to go into Memphis to fight Jermain Taylor who's from nearby Little Rock,” said Mora.

Mora had made up his mind. He wasn’t going to fight Taylor in his hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. Sure most say that champions deserve to fight in their backyards and contenders must win in hostile environments in order to become champions themselves, but Mora saw through this and took his career in a safer route, hiding from the sometimes corrupt system in place in boxing.

The Internet boxing message boards were full of criticism. Critics called out Mora for ducking the champ. Other’s called him out for trying to control a fight in which he was not the champion. Some said he didn’t have heart for ducking the champ. Either way Mora’s decision was made up, he would not fight Taylor. Eventually Cory Spinks was Mora’s replacement for the fight. Spinks lost via unanimous decision in a match, which left fans yawning rather than cheering.

Mora would find another opponent shortly after in middleweight veteran contender Raymond Joval. Joval was to be Mora’s first opponent since Regan. However, the Joval fight was cancelled as Mora withdrew from the fight for a higher profile fight against middleweight contender and former Junior Middleweight Champion Kassim Ouma.

So after approximately nine months off Mora had a fight. He would be fighting a relatively high profile fighter and maybe his stiffest competition yet in Kassim Ouma. Ouma, 25-3-1, 15 KO’s, is known for throwing an enormously high amount of punches throughout his fights, which can help, but also hurt himself. Ouma is also known for being an extremely aggressive fighter, coming at his opponents the entire fight. Ouma’s previous opponent was the aforementioned Jermain Taylor. Ouma lost the middleweight title fight by way of unanimous decision and absorbed some big power shots from Taylor without going down.

Mora is a boxer who fights with a lot of emotion, which also can hurt and harm him. He also fights in an unorthodox manner, basically bending the technically sound styles a boxer should use for defense and offense and formatting them to fit his style. For example Mora tends to stick his head out rather than protect his chin and also keeps his hands lower than fighters are supposed to. Mora has had problems in the past fighting aggressive boxers. The best way for a boxer to defeat an aggressive fighter is for the boxer to be an excellent counter puncher, which Mora is not.

Mora usually jabs his opponents and waits until they come relatively close to them and throws a barrage of quick body shots. He also likes to slip in upper cuts from far distances. Mora has relatively quick hand speed and over all speed, but he certainly doesn’t have world class speed. In Mora’s victory over Ishe Smith, aired on “The Contender,” every time Smith attacked Mora he had no answer for the barrage of punches thrown his way. Fortunately for Mora, Smith did not attack him throughout the fight, letting Mora do his own work and win the fight by way of split decision. Unfortunately for the “Latin Snake,” Ouma is a fighter who is relentless and will not stop his barrage of punches until he is either knocked out or the final bell has rang. And with just four knockouts throughout his career, if a known knock out fighter, Jermain Taylor, can’t knock out Ouma, Mora probably can’t either.

With such a long layoff and Mora fighting his toughest competition yet I am probably going more towards an Ouma victory. However, he doesn’t call him self “The Latin Snake” for nothing and he might be able to slither his way to victory and keep his record unblemished.

woot

Kassim is ready
Friday, 10th August, 2007
www.newvision.co.ug
By Phillip Corry

FORMER International Boxing Federation junior middleweight champion Kassim “The Dream” Ouma will this weekend intensify his training ahead of the middleweight clash with Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora on September 15.

“I will be moving back to Florida at the end of the week to up the tempo in the gym,” Ouma told The New Vision by phone. Ouma is in Los Angeles training with a sparring partner, Manuel.

September’s battle will be Ouma’s first fight this year, having lost his world title challenge against WBC, WBO middleweight champion Jermain Taylor in December last year.

“I talked to my promoter Oscar De La Hoya and he told me that no body wants to fight with me. However, he said he will get me a title shot soon,” he added.

“My focus right now is to win against Mora. He is a good fighter and top contender. I don’t want to underrate him, but I’m going to rock his world and he should be ready for it.”

The Ugandan fighter will act as a co-feature of a main event that will see WBC super-featherweight champion Juan Marquez battling Rocky Juarez.

Golden Boy Promotions could possibly land Ouma a title charge against newly crowned WBC light middleweight champion Vernon “The Viper” Forrest later in the year or early next year.

Ouma, 25(15kos)-3-1, has been forced to fight opponents twice bigger than his size.

I found a few more pics.

http://aycu17.webshots.com/image/24136/2003340676866318495_rs.jpg

http://aycu28.webshots.com/image/22787/2003349544235282153_rs.jpg

http://aycu31.webshots.com/image/21350/2003306982057119963_rs.jpg

http://aycu27.webshots.com/image/22026/2003322075325800250_rs.jpg

Here's Dan Rafael's take on the fight card.

Another dose of random thoughts
posted: Tuesday, July 24, 2007
by Dan Rafael
www.espn.com

• When Golden Boy and HBO announced that Juan Manuel Marquez would defend the junior lightweight title against Jorge Barrios in a pay-per-view headliner on Sept. 15, my first reaction was something like, "How the hell can that be on pay-per-view?" While the main event is a credible match, it is indeed marginal as PPV main event fare goes. However, I really like the overall card and think it will be worth your $44.95. There's a little bit for everyone on what I think is a competitive, well-matched show. Besides the main event, which could be exciting, we'll get a very good featherweight title bout between Robert Guerrero and Rocky Juarez; the return of "Contender" first-season winner Sergio Mora in a serious middleweight fight against former junior middleweight titlist Kassim Ouma; and a crossroads bout between former junior lightweight titlist/"Contender" second season runner-up Steve Forbes and former uber prospect Francisco "Panchito" Bojado. That's four fights, no mismatches and probably a lot of entertainment.

Marquez-Barrios Presser!
July 23, 2007
www.fightnews.com
By Albert Jimenez Howell

http://aycu01.webshots.com/image/24040/2002534322886983823_rs.jpg

Saturday morning’s press conference for the September 15th WBC world super featherweight championship bout between Juan Manuel Marquez (47-3-1, 35 KOs) and Jorge Barrios (47-3-1, 34 KOs) took place at the Mandalay Bay Las Vegas. Marquez is coming off the most important victory of his career a twelve round unanimous decision victory over Marco Antonio Barrera for Barrera’s WBC 130 pound world title on March 17th of this year. The challenger Barrios is the former WBO super featherweight champion a crown that he lost via a hard fought twelve round split decision to Joan Guzman on September 16th of last year.

The media conference got heated when Barrios said that Marquez does not bring dynamite into the ring but rather the dull pop of a child’s party popper. Marquez took offense to Barrios’ comments and promised the fans that he would live up to his nickname “Dinamita” when he squares off against Barrios. The fight will take place on the eve of Mexican Independence Day and the champion Marquez, who hails from México City , dedicated the bout to the Mexican fight fans. When Marquez and Barrios faced off for the cameras, the war of words became even more heated between the two combatants prompting promoter Oscar de la Hoya to step-in and separate the two boxers

The September 15th card dubbed ‘Fireworks’ features a co-main event IBF featherweight world title bout between Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (20-2-1, 13 KOs) and Rocky Juarez (27-3, 19 KOs ). “This is not my first rodeo,” were the words Juarez used to describe this his fourth time fighting for a world title. Juarez came up short in his first three campaigns to capture a world title belt. In 2006, Juarez faced Barrera twice coming up short both times in his bids to capture a world championship belt at 130 pounds. Now campaigning back in the 126 pound division, Juarez will attempt to lift Guerrero’s belt and fulfill a childhood dream of becoming a world champion. Juarez acknowledged that Guerrero has been campaigning for a fight against Juarez for a number of years but until now the bout just did not make sense. The champion Guerrero concurred stating, “Like Rocky said I have been chasing him for a while. Now I am champion I am going to give him the shot.”

Also on this loaded card is a ten round middleweight bout between former light middleweight champion Kassim Ouma (25-3-1, 15 KOs) and ‘The Contender’ season one winner Sergio ‘The Latin Snake’ Mora (19-0, 4 KOs ). Ouma is coming off a December 9, 2006 twelve round unanimous decision loss to middleweight titleholder Jermain Taylor. It was his first campaign as a middleweight. About Mora, Ouma said: “I am fighting the million dollar boy. He made his million before me.” In winning ‘The Contender’ season one crown, Mora became an instant millionaire as he was awarded the television tournament’s million dollar pot. The reality boxing star Mora concurred with the boxing experts that this bout with Ouma marks a step-up in competition for his career. About his opponent, Mora stated, “We all know he throws over 100 punches a round. So, we know he is definitely coming to the fight to win. The bad news is I don’t like getting hit and I am going to want to match him punch-for-punch.”

The fourth televised bout on the ‘Fireworks’ card will be a ten round super lightweight fight between Francisco ‘Panchito’ Bojado (17-2, 11 KOs) and Steve Forbes (32-5, 9 KOs ). At the beginning of the current decade, Bojado was the hottest prospect in boxing. After he suffered the second defeat in his young career in 2004, Bojado took nearly three years off from the boxing ring. Nevertheless, when he returned to the ring on May 4th of this year, Bojado reminded all why he is still regarded as a superstar-in-the-making when he won a ten round unanimous decision victory over Dairo Esalas. Bojado will be looking to reestablish himself as a dangerous world title contender when he faces Forbes. Forbes, a former super featherweight world champion and ‘The Contender’ season two runner-up, is coming off a March 17, 2007 twelve round unanimous decision loss to Demetrius Hopkins a bout many observers felt Forbes had won.

The Saturday, September 15th ‘Fireworks’ event will be televised on HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6p.m. PT at a suggested retail price of $44.95. Tickets for the live event are priced at $300, $200, $100 and $50 and are on sale now at the MGM Grand Garden Arena box office and online at: www.ticketmaster.com.

Alert! Huge Gap on Kassim Ouma-Sergio Mora Opening Line
Las Vegas and Online Sportsbooks Clash in Setting Line!
www.boxingconfidential.com
John Chavez
7/27/2007

While it might not be big news to some of you regular boxing fans, for any of you degenerate gamblers reading this, you might just find it informative. I noticed that while I was at the Mandalay Bay sportsbook in Las Vegas this past weekend that the opening line on “The Dream” vs. “The Latin Snake” (yes it sounds pornographic) had the Ugandan favored at -280. However at the online sportsbooks 5dimes.com and thegreek.com, both of them open up the fight as virtually even money with Mora as the slightest favorite at -115 and Ouma at +100.

This is part of an article written by Doug Fischer of Maxboxing, he is the guy that has always good things to say about Sergio, anyways he was checking out Vargas' training, and he was talking to Robert Ferguson who is both Sergio's and Vargas's fitness coach, and he added this little tidbit in the article, so I thought that I would post it.



I talked to Vargas’s nutritionist/strength and conditioning guru, Robert Ferguson, and the well-regarded fitness coach said he is happy with Vargas’s progress so far.

I didn’t stick around for Vargas’s sparring session, but Steve Kim, who conducted a video interview with El Feroz that will run on Max-TV in a few weeks, did and ‘the K-Hammer’ reports that Vargas looked sharp.

Speaking of sparring, Ferguson, who also works with Sergio Mora, says “the Latin Snake” will soon be sparring with jr. middleweight prospect James Kirkland, a Texas badass with a 19-0 (16) record, in preparation for his middleweight bout vs. 154-pound titlist Kassim Ouma on the pay-per-view undercard of Juan Manuel Marquez and Jorge Barrios’s Sept. 15th showdown.

I’ve heard that Mora, the popular winner of season one of The Contender, has built a nice little gym in Montebello called “the Pitt” (Get it? As in ‘Snake Pitt’?). Now I have a reason to drop by.

Southern California Notebook
By Doug Fischer (Aug 24, 2007) Photo © Robert Ferguson
www.maxboxing.com

http://aycu11.webshots.com/image/25250/2003765137334337333_rs.jpg

Fernando Vargas and Sergio Mora don’t have much in common as far as their personalities are concerned, but the two Southern California-based middleweights who are both in action next month do share one thing (actually one person) in common when it comes to their training camps – Robert Ferguson.

The well-regarded weight-loss guru, who has recently made a name for himself in boxing as a nutritionist/strength and conditioning coach, is in charge of helping Vargas and Mora make their fighting weight in the healthiest manner possible while preparing their bodies for the physical rigors of the prize ring.

So if Vargas looks sluggish while slugging it out with Ricardo Mayorga on Sept. 8th or Mora peters out while duking it out with Kassim Ouma on Sept. 15th, you know who’s to blame – the one black guy in both the Mexican-American boxers’ teams. (Sorry Robert, you know I’m just kidding.)

Seriously, there won’t be any need for the blame game next month. Ferguson, who has also worked with Samuel Peter, Lucia Rijker, Steve Forbes and Alfonso Gomez, is damn good at what he does; and he’s more than proved himself and his worth to both Vargas and Mora.

Ferguson has been a member of ‘the Ferocious Squad’ since the camp for Vargas’s bout vs. Raymond Joval in early 2005. He joined Mora’s tightly knit ‘Snake Pit’ before Mora’s encounter with Archak TerMeliksetian last May.

Going into the Joval fight, Vargas had taken all of 2004 off to deal with a chronic back problem and thyroid disorder. As anyone who is familiar with ‘El Feroz’ can guess, the weight of the former two-time junior middleweight titlist had spiraled out of control. Ferguson got Vargas down to the contracted 162 pounds without “drying” him out and without compromising his stamina, which was needed to fend off the ultra-busy and naturally bigger Joval en route to a 10-round decision victory.

Going into the TerMeliksetian bout, Mora was known as a quick but punchless boxer who was prone to getting sick during his camps (so much so that his training and his bouts were often scheduled to factor in a missing week or two due to illness). Mora, who hadn’t scored a knockout in his past six bouts, brought Ferguson in to help increase his physical strength for grueling fights.

‘The Latin Snake’ got up from a second-round knockdown to stop TerMeliksetian in the seventh with a brutal barrage of punches, and not only gained stamina in the middle rounds of the bout but appeared to be the stronger of the two fighters.

“I also told Sergio that he would never get sick again before a fight,” Ferguson said proudly. “He was never a sickly person. He was just nutrient deficient like a lot of boxers.”

Ferguson, a doctoral candidate in sports psychology who holds certifications in performance nutrition and personal training AND is a former combat athlete, views boxers and watches the sport with a different eye than most of us.

For instance, where most observers will watch Jermain Taylor’s recent fights and assess (like a bunch of armchair Eddie Futches) that the middleweight champ’s technique has regressed, and where some wannabe psychologists (like one Freud Fischer) pontificate on how the Arkansas native may have lost his confidence, Ferguson only sees an athlete who has strained his body to make the 160-pound limit and is fighting accordingly in order to conserve his limited stamina over the 12-round distance.

He also has an interesting perspective of both Vargas and Mora.

Ferguson is somehow simultaneously coaching Vargas in Valencia and Mora in Montebello. Earlier this week, I sat down with him for lunch at the Simply Wholesome health food restaurant on West Slauson Avenue (which is thankfully within walking distance of Casa Del Fischer) to talk about his role and his take on both fighters whom he described as “totally different and extremely unique” individuals.

“Fernando is married with four kids; his mother lives close by and is over to the house a lot along with his many friends,” he said. “With Fernando, everything is about family. He loves to be surrounded by his family, and his team, the Squad, is family, too. His camp is an extension of his family.

“With Fernando, I work with him every day. I play a major role in the camp. I’m his friend, his full-time nutritionist, I’m his conditioning coach, I help with the sparring, etc.

“Sergio is different. He’s more independent and he’s more introverted. He’s definitely OK to sit by himself and read a book or watch a deep philosophical movie. He doesn’t have a big training team. He has ‘the Pit’. It’s just him, John [Montelongo] and Dean [Campos]. I’m the fourth wheel. I come in three days a week and do my thing and then get out. Those three have a special bond together that’s beautiful. They don’t do anything unless all three are 100% in agreement. The week of a fight they all go into the zone. They don’t even have to talk to communicate. I love that. They’re old school like that.”

With Mora, Ferguson’s work is focused on the physical strength and conditioning.

“Sergio wanted to be stronger and he didn’t want to worry about making weight,” he said.

“In the gym we work on building strength, but it has to be dynamic because that’s Sergio. He has a very particular, unorthodox style that works for him. Speed and footwork is important, so I have him doing stuff you would see a hockey player do – his workouts incorporate a lot of lateral movement. There’s a lot of focus on leg and hip strength, so we do a lot of Olympic lifts and power cleans.

“For the boxers I train, I look at the strengths of my client’s opponents and I get them ready for it with specific training. For Kassim Ouma, Sergio has to be ready for constant pressure and high volume punching. He’s going to need quick recovery time and he’s going to need to have his power down the stretch of the fight.

“There’s a workout I created for Sergio called ‘When the Fight’s Gone Bad’ and Sergio loves it. The purpose of the workout is to make you feel like a fighter does late in a tough fight; it mimics the grueling fight experience.

“People don’t think Sergio is a strong or powerful fighter. They’re wrong. You’re going to see more displays of power from him in future fights.”

Ferguson says Mora, The Ring magazine’s no. 10-rated middleweight, could easily make the junior middleweight limit of 154 pounds.

“Getting Sergio’s weight under control was easy,” he said. “I’m not very hands on with the nutritional side of his training because he follows that to a tee. I can tell him what to eat and when to eat it over the phone and he understands.”

Vargas is an entirely different story.

“Vargas likes to eat, man,” Ferguson says laughing.

Following his second stoppage loss to Shane Mosley last year, the Oxnard native who now makes his home in Camarillo briefly retired and ballooned up to an unhealthy 264 pounds before deciding that he wanted to fight one more time.

“That was in January,” said Ferguson. “We knew it would be Mayorga because Fernando has had it out for him ever since the [Javier] Castillejo fight, but the fight wasn’t set and we didn’t even have a date yet.

“But it didn’t matter. Fernando had made up his mind that he was going to fight again, so we packed up and set up camp in Ojai, California, about 50 miles east of Ventura, and in two months we knocked off 40 pounds.”

The pre-camp wasn’t just about weight loss. Vargas, who had gone AWOL for a couple of weeks prior to his rematch with Mosley, had lost a lot of muscle.

“He weighed 184 pounds 24 days before the second fight with Shane,” Ferguson said. “We got him down to 154, but that was the fight right there, making the contracted weight. Thank God he’s fighting at 162 pounds for Mayorga. Still, the challenge at the start of the year was getting his muscle back.

“The first thing I had to do was get his food under control. I got him on a schedule of eating every three hours. He could eat his favorite foods, like lasagna and pizza, but he had to cut out the junk like candy and sweets.

“Then we started having fun. I had him playing basketball, hitting the track, doing hikes and even swimming. He said he hadn’t swam in years, but after a month he thought he was the Mexican Mark Spitz.

“I had him running the bleachers at the track, jogging three-quarter laps and sprinting the final 100 meters, before moving up to running two to four 200 meter and 400 meter intervals. He was 220 pounds and he was movin’!

“We did everything but boxing. We didn’t watch tapes and we didn’t talk boxing. We had a blast, and we laughed a lot.”

Vargas returned home in March and continued the gradual lifestyle change that enabled him to continue losing weight.

“We worked out of his home gym and a local 24-hour club, something he used to be against. It was more of the same but with a few more pleasures since he was back with his wife and kids. But we substituted Patrón for wine, and I did the recipes for all of his meals.”

Vargas’s camp for Mayorga began in earnest a couple of weeks before the kick-off press conference at the STAPLES Center on July 12th. His weight is currently around the low 170s, high 160s and he’s reportedly looking sharp in sparring.

“He’s got three guys that he’s sparring with right now; yesterday he did 10 rounds,” said Ferguson. “His resting heart rate is 39. A good marathon runner’s resting heart rate is around 45. Your average fit guy who goes to the gym every day is around 50. The average American’s is 80.

“From a cardio standpoint, Fernando is ready to go. It’s all boxing right now.”

He says Mora is getting great gym work from main sparring partner James Kirkland, an explosive 154-pound prospect from Texas with a 19-0 (16) record.

“They both have to be ready for war because both Mayorga and Ouma are going to come in shape and they’re going to bring it,” said Ferguson. “But that’s OK. As different as they are, Fernando and Sergio have something in common – the more you push them the harder they fight back. Putting pressure on them only helps them.

“Vargas always has that fire. He’s pissed off and pumped up at the press conference all the way to the ring. Sergio has the same fire, but he keeps it under wraps until the fight. Once the boxing match becomes a battle, the ‘East L.A.’ in him comes out quick.”

Ferguson knows something about a warrior’s fire in the belly.

The Anderson, Indiana native who spent five years in the Marine Corps., and is a ‘Desert Storm’ veteran, has practiced Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu since ’92 and competed in Mixed Martial Arts bouts.

“I compiled a 10-2-1 MMA record,” said Ferguson, who used to fight with the rather flamboyant nickname of ‘the Prince of Leglocks’. “My last fight was vs. Dave Menne, the former UFC middleweight champ. It was a draw, but it was controversial. Most folks thought I won it. He weighed 191 pounds. I was 174. I took that fight for my speaking career. It was a real-life David vs. Goliath scenario that I could talk about and it worked out.”

Ferguson, who has written two books on dieting, ‘Fat That Doesn’t Come Back’ and ‘Conquering the Munchie Monster’, has made a living as a motivational speaker and healthy weight-loss specialist (which includes an educational website www.dietfreelife.com).

“Vargas got wind of me because of my philosophy of eating the foods you love and still losing weight,” he said, laughing. “Still, it took him a couple of years to reach out even though I live and have offices in Ventura. I later found out that’s why he waited. He told his friends ‘If he’s that good, he wouldn’t be living in the 805’.

“The first meeting I had with Fernando was bizarre. It was like something out of ‘the Sopranos’. We met in this board room at night, like around 8:30 p.m. It was all of the Ferocious Squad sitting and staring at me and Fernando sitting at the end of the table all blinged out eating pineapple slices. He ranted for 30 or 40 minutes about his struggle with weight and food and then abruptly turned it over to me and said ‘So whatta you got to say!?’

“I told him to work with me for 30 days. ‘I won’t charge you’ I said. Let’s see what happens. He wound up dropping 20 pounds that month, but the first day we worked together I called him up in the morning and told him that I wanted him to eat a big breakfast, something he hadn’t done in years when in training. I told him to eat a huge veggie omelette with two slices of toast with peanut butter and jam and I’ll be over.

“Before I could leave my place I got a call from Rolando Arellano, his manager at the time, he was like ‘Are you sure about this?’ On my way over Joe Pecora, an advisor then and now his manager, called and asked the same thing. Before I got there, Martha, now his wife, called and asked me ‘Are you SURE want me to cook this for Fernando?’

“I recall having his trainer Eduardo Garcia freak out because I had him drinking a lot of water in the days before a fight.”

You would think they feared that Vargas was going to explode or something.

“The first camp I had with his former trainer Danny Smith, it was getting close to fight time and I had Fernando eat a big bowl of pasta and Danny approached me in private saying ‘Hey man, are you sure about this? I mean, that’s a lot of food.’

“It wasn’t just Fernando’s team, its most trainers and managers. I guess they don’t trust what they don’t know or they’ve had bad experiences with nutritionists and conditioning coaches in the past. But I took it personally at first. I’m thinking to myself ‘What’s with these boxing people? Can’t they just let me do my job!? I don’t tell them how to manage or how to train their fighters’.

“But you know what, I prayed about it. And I really felt like this was where I needed to be.

“I feel like I’m here to help the fighters.”

Dougie,
I enjoyed the feature on Robert Ferguson. He seems like a man of character, faith, and skill, who knows his purpose and is deservedly rising to the top of his field. Your in-depth features on up-n-comer fighters and key players behind the headlines are unique and always well-done. Keep up the great work. – DIW, Chicago

Doug: Thank you. I take the Southern California Notebook very seriously and the philosophy behind the column is very simple: I want to act as eyes and ears for fans who don’t live in areas with active boxing communities and gym cultures, but more importantly, I want to introduce the people who grow up in or come through the gyms out here to MaxBoxing’s readers. Whether it’s Bernard Hopkins or Josesito Lopez or Roberto Ferguson they are all fascinating individuals with much insight and many stories to be told.

I’ll have more on Ferguson in future SCNs because he’s working with Sergio Mora, who come to think of it, is a prime candidate for this week’s column.

Hi Doug,
Do you like Cotto over Molsey and Mora over Ouma? Regards. – Ken

Doug - Yes and yes. But I'm more certain with my of Mora pick than my Cotto pick. That welterweight contest is a real toss-up on paper and I think it will be on canvas, too.

Sergio Mora: A Lot at Stake for The Latin Snake
Rudy Candia
08/28/2007 - Odessa, TX
www.tigerboxing.com

When Sergio Mora won The Contender championship he hoped to go from reality contender to “real” contender in a flash. But so far the only “Contender” who has realized that goal is third place finisher, Alfonso Gomez who earned a top ten ranking in the welterweight division after his career making beat down of Arturo Gatti. So when Mora goes up against Kassim Ouma on September 15th there will be a lot at stake for the “Latin Snake.”

Anyone who saw the first season of the popular show knows that Sergio Mora (19-0, 4 KOs) is not the stereotypical East LA product. A well-read person outside of the ring, with Nietzsche among his interests, he’s intelligent between the ropes as well. An unorthodox fighter, Mora can switch fluidly between conventional and southpaw stances and can to deliver quick punches from odd angles.

Mora drew the ire of many boxing fans when middleweight champion Jermain Taylor chose him as an opponent only to have Mora back out of the fight. Even though many criticized Taylor for calling out Mora, who’s never faced a top ten 160-pounder, they were also quick to blast Mora for backing out of the fight.

Mora, who lost to Taylor in the 2000 Olympic trials, cited the location, Memphis Tennessee, as his reason for declining the fight, citing it would be near impossible to win a decision in what may not be the reigning champion’s neighborhood. Undoubtedly, the savvy Mora also knew that, with only four KOs on his record, the chances that he would knock out Taylor were slim.

Ironically Taylor’s choice for a substitute, Cory Spinks, found himself in just that situation last May. Spinks, who is a slick, speedy 154-pounder with very little KO power is in the same style category of fighters as Mora. Even though many felt Spinks outboxed Taylor, it was not enough to gain a decision over Jermain, who keeps on getting the benefit of the doubt in close fights. Point proven.

When Mora takes on Uganda's Kassim Ouma (25-3 15 KOs) on next month’s undercard to Juan Manuel Marquez-Rocky Juarez, he can start silencing the naysayers on a big, Golden Boy Promotions show. A world-class junior middleweight, Kassim briefly held the IBF belt at that weight and gave a good account of himself in challenging Taylor.

It should be Mora’s toughest test to date. But he looks up to the task, against a man who never stops throwing leather.

Ouma, 28, owns the record for the most punches landed by a junior middleweight at a whopping 502 but what that record does not reflect is that most of his punches are arm punches that lack snap. Mora, by contrast, delivers quick stinging punches that land with unerring accuracy.

Though he has a scant 4 KOs to his name (from 19 wins), Mora’s rapid-fire shots can have a demoralizing effect. He stings foes that heavier hitters may put out of their misery. He throws punches from all angles, so that opponents can't see what's coming next: not an easy man to fight.

If Ouma dismisses Mora's punch, he may find himself in the same position as Archak TerMeliksetian, with the referee having to pull him out of the snake pit. Or he may find himself as demoralized by Mora’s quick strikes from unexpected angles as 6’ 4” middleweight Eric Regan was a year ago.

In both of these fights Mora kept an impressive pace, especially late on. Against Archak, he rose from a second round knockdown yet came back hard to overwhelm the Armenian in the seventh. Against Regan, Mora also fought better as the fight progressed, taking a lopsided decision over an opponent who was given no respite.

Ouma may be known for his stamina in world-class fights, but his advantage may be perceived rather than real.

More than just a Contender-hyped commodity, Mora is an able and entertaining athlete. Who can resist a guy who reacts to taking a solid shot, as he did vs Regan, by drawing an imaginary line with his foot and daring his man to cross it? The best part of his showboating is that “The Latin Snake” backs it up with his fists. As Regan found out when he crossed the line and was met with fierce volleys.

He's more than just a gimmick, and at the age of 26 is ready to refine his skills for the very top.

Southern California Notebook
By Doug Fischer (Aug 30, 2007)
www.maxboxing.com

Things change fast in the boxing world. It pays to be versatile enough to roll with the punches when they come in bunches.

Last week I thought I had the main subject of my next three Notebooks locked up. This week I was going to focus on some of the fighters on the Fernando Vargas-Ricardo Mayorga undercard who were training in Southern California, or had come to this area from the East Coast a little early to get ready for their bouts on the Sept. 8th card that was to be held at STAPLES Center.

Next week, I was going to focus on Commando Nando himself, and the week after I was going to profile Sergio Mora the week of his Sept. 15th showdown with Kassim Ouma.

Then news of Fernando’s bleeding stomach ulcers (yuck) and anemia came down along with the postponement of the Mayorga fight, which was a buzzkill by itself, but the cancellation of the undercard meant I didn’t have Kermit Cintron, Jesse Feliciano, Roman Karmazin and/or Giovanni Lorenzo to write about this week.

So I decided Tuesday to move Mora up on my SCN schedule. I know his fight with Ouma, which is the co-featured bout to the Juan Manuel Marquez-Rocky Juarez HBO Pay-Per-View show, is two and half weeks away, but that means he’s still sparring and I had heard that the East L.A. native and undefeated 154-pound prospect James Kirkland had been going to war in the gym.

So, what the heck, I thought, change of plan. I called Mora’s cell phone late Tuesday afternoon to see if it was OK for me to pop in on Wednesday. Nobody picked up, and I was greeted by a recorded hissing sound (no bulls__t).

That’s it. The sound that a snake makes is all you get when you call Mora’s cell and get his voice mail.

There’s no: “Hi, you’ve reached Sergio Mora, winner of season one of The Contender and future middleweight champion of the world, please leave a message and I’ll get back to you when I can” or “Sergio Mora, the Latin Snake, is not around to take your call, please leave a message”.

There’s just: “Hssssssssss!” and then the sound of the beep.

“Uh… um, Sergio? Uh… hi, this is Doug Fischer of MaxBoxing.com… uh, um… How ya doing? Um, anyway, I know this is late notice, but I was hoping I could visit your gym in Montebello and interview you for this week’s Southern California Notebook. Um, yeah, yeah… uh, that would be great. Um, I don’t know where your gym is. Uhhhhh, can you give me a call when you get this message? Uh, thanks. I hope all is well. Uh, take it easy.” Click.

“My God, I leave the worst voice mails,” I thought to myself. “Why don’t I ever get better at that?”

I didn’t hear back from Mora that evening and I wouldn’t have blamed him if he erased my neurotic message half way through the rambling, so I emailed his strength and conditioning coach, Robert Ferguson, and asked the weight-loss guru when and where the Latin Snake trains.

Ferguson, the subject of last week’s column, replied within the hour. The brotha is on top of things. He told me that he does his strength work with Mora at the undefeated middleweight’s newly acquired gym space in Montebello, beginning at 8:30 a.m.

“Damn,” I thought to myself. “8:30 means I gotta get my ass up and out of bed by 7:00 and then deal with morning traffic on the I-10.”

But then I had to catch myself. What did I say a few weeks ago about dedication? Oh yeah, if Mora can get up and go through the workout that Ferguson puts him through and then get into the ring with a monster like Kirkland for six to eight rounds the next day, the least I can do is wake my dusty ass up and deal with L.A. traffic.

Actually, it wasn’t that bad once I got on the CA-60 East (Pomona Freeway). I arrived to my destination at 8:30 a.m. on the dot, and apparently, beat everyone to the gym (known as ‘the Pit’). Well, everyone that I know. I could hear someone banging away on a heavybag with loud bumping rap music blaring in the background (I think it was Too $hort). Either the music was too loud, or the person working out was the kind that doesn’t like to be interrupted in the middle of the bag session.

It was the latter and it was female fighter Ann Wolfe who opened the door just as Ferguson arrived.

Wolfe co-trains Kirkland, who takes on Mohammad Said in the co-feature of a Showtime-televised card from Tacoma, Washington tomorrow night (the ShoBox that is headlined by Russian KO-Artist Victor Oganov). Both fighters hail from Austin, Texas and speak with that unmistakable regional accent and Southern drawl.

It was fun sitting around and talking shop with Wolfe and Kirkland, both of whom have enjoyed their stay in Southern California and used their time in ‘the Pit’ to get into tip-top shape. (James is walking around at fighting weight, 156 pounds; Ann is a very fit-and-formidable looking 175.) They are real folks, and real funny at times. They talk the way they fight – straight forward, raw and uncut.

Wolfe, who hasn’t fought in over a year due to the difficulty she has in luring top female fighters into the ring is considering retirement in order to train fighters fulltime, was excited about Kirkland finally going into a televised fight in shape. Too many distractions and not enough sparring partners for the explosive southpaw back home in Austin, she said.

“If he would have been in shape, those last two dudes he fought on ShoBox wouldn’t have lasted,” she said while unintentionally flexing her biceps. “Me? I train twice a day, every day, even when I don’t have a fight comin’ up.”

“She train hard,” the somewhat shy Kirkland added. “Hard.”

With their accents, the word “hard” sounded like “howd” when Kirkland and Wolfe said it.

“I wanna be an example to my fighters,” Wolfe continued. “If you ain’t about to throw up, you ain’t trainin’. If someone ain’t tryin’ to kick your ass and you ain’t tryin’ kick they ass, you ain’t sparrin’.

“You gotta be in condition to box and you gotta have heart. You don’t get heart in a fight. You get heart from trainin’.”

“Howd,” Kirkland added.

“You get heart from hittin’ that heavybag ‘til you ready to fall out,” Wolfe continued. “How you gonna win if you ain’t been grindin’ every day in the gym?”

From what I’ve heard, Mora and Kirkland, who leaves for Washington today, have been grindin’ for the last two weeks.

“The sparring was unbelievably intense,” Ferguson confirmed. “I’m kind of glad Mora’s done sparring with James and will now work with guys who are busy but don’t have as much power. You never want to see a fighter leave his fight in the gym.”

No you don’t. Speaking of Mora and the gym, “Where the heck is he?” I asked. Ferguson and I were enjoying Kirkland and Wolfe’s company so much (Robert thinks Ann would be great motivational speaker for professional fighters – “Ann keeps it real; but we might have to lock the doors to keep some of them in there to hear what they need to hear”) that we lost track of time. It was almost 10:00 a.m. and no Latin Snake was in sight.

Just then Ferguson got a call from Mora’s co-trainer/advisor John Montelongo. There was a last-minute change of plan. Instead of the strength and conditioning routine, Mora would spar 10 rounds at the El Monte Boxing Club around 1 p.m.

So, it looked like I was going to be hanging around Steve Kim’s old stomping grounds a little longer than anticipated. No problem. You gotta roll with the punches, baby. Besides, although I have the utmost respect for Ferguson’s strength work with fighters, I was hoping to see Mora in the ring, something fight fans haven’t seen since August of last year when he out-pointed 6-foot-4 Eric Regan over 10 rounds in an ESPN-televised bout from Sacramento.

Now he’s about to fight on HBO for the first time against formidable former world title holder. I was curious about his conditioning and overall sharpness because I know he’ll need his A-game to beat Ouma.

After a late breakfast at the IHOP (followed by a Grande Mocha pick-up at the nearby Starbucks) near the corner of Montebello and Beverly, I met Montelongo and Mora’s trainer Dean Campos at ‘the Pit’ and followed them to El Monte where Mora would go 10 quality rounds with Alfredo Angulo, an undefeated junior middleweight prospect from Mexico who will make his U.S. television debut (vs. undefeated Emmanuel Gonzalez) on ShoBox next Friday.

Angulo, a 2004 Mexican Olympian with an 8-0 (6) record, was one of the main sparring partners that helped Roy Jones Jr. prepare for his July victory over Anthony Hanshaw. That’s right, a 5-foot-8 junior middleweight sparred with the former light heavyweight champ to get him ready for a super middleweight prospect.

There’s nothing special about Angulo, but he’s tough as nails and throws a ton punches in every round. In other words, he’s the perfect guy to help Mora get ready for the non-stop aggression that Ouma will show him in two weeks.

It was good to see Mora, who sported a ripped physique and is already at weight (around 162 pounds). He was one of those local guys that I knew had talent, and had seen around the gyms and on non-televised undercards for years, but for some reason just couldn’t catch a break in terms of hooking up with the right promotional company in order to move his professional career.

All the top promoters took a look at him at one time or another between late 2000 through 2003, when he compiled a 10-0 record, but all passed on signing him either because they didn’t like his unorthodox style of boxing or because he didn’t already have a built-in fanbase as young prospect.

The Contender came along at just the right time and the televised competition (then on NBC) turned out to be the perfect format to promote his unique personality (to a national audience) AND help develop him from prospect to contender.

Some critics would say Mora, now 19-0 (4) at the age of 26, is still a prospect. OK, but if that’s so, he’s one of the more battle-tested prospects out there. Taking on the late Najai Turpin (11-1), Ishe Smith (a ranked welterweight at the time with a 15-0 record), Jesse Brinkley (a 25-1 junior middleweight prospect at the time) and Peter Manfredo Jr. (a ranked junior middleweight at the time with a 24-1 record) – and beating them all – was an impressive feat in retrospect. The bulk of Mora’s quality ring competition came during the first season of the unscripted show.

And after just two fights outside of The Contender Universe – a seventh-round stoppage of Archak TerMeliksetian and the decision over Regan – Mora now finds himself ranked no. 10 in The Ring magazine’s middleweight ratings, as well as no. 11 in the IBF and no. 9 in the WBA.

It’s a far leap from when I first saw him back in ’99. I remember watching him spar with Oba Carr as a wide-eyed 19-year-old amateur at the now-defunct L.A. Boxing Club before the Detroit native challenged Oscar De La Hoya for the WBC welterweight title that May.

I was impressed with Mora’s confidence and his hand speed, and I recall thinking that he was good preparation for De La Hoya.

Carr did surprising well in that fight despite being undersized and already past his prime. I didn’t see it, but rumor had it that Mora dropped Carr in a sparring session a few weeks before the De La Hoya fight.

“It happened,” Mora confirmed. “It was a surprise shot more than anything else. I landed a right cross that caught him in mid punch.

“I was honored just to be in the ring with him. They were paying $45.”

Per session, not round.

“I would have done it for free,” Mora said.

For Mora, being asked to spar with the classy two-time title challenger was as much an indication that he was making strides in his future profession as his winning back-to-back State Golden Gloves titles (in ’98 and ’99).

“We were always serious about boxing,” said Campos, who first met Mora when the boxer was 15 years old as an assistant coach to the Montebello PAL program that Montelongo started. “I wouldn’t have been involved if it wasn’t serious.

“Sergio started late, so we always had to take big steps instead of little steps. When I heard that Carr’s people wanted to spar with him I told John ‘Yeah, take it! I’ll be there!’ I was driving a delivery truck at the time and I drove it to the gym to watch them spar and then headed out to continue my deliveries after they were done.

“Before I got into my truck, I saw Oba and his dad leaving the gym and I thanked them for sparring with Sergio. Oba told me ‘One day I’ll be saying that I sparred with Sergio’.”

“Oba’s got a special place in my heart,” Mora said as he was getting ready to step into the ring with Angulo.

As Montelongo put on Mora’s headgear he was reminded of the catalyst for his involvement with the young man’s career.

“He was winning fights and advancing in the Golden Gloves, but he wore this tiny yellow headgear that didn’t fit his head,” he recalled.

“Yeah, it kept popping off and we had to pound it back on his head in-between rounds,” Campos remembered, laughing.

“He had the wrong-sized headgear, the wrong-sized shoes, but he was winning,” Montelongo continued. “I said to myself ‘He should at least have headgear that fits’. So I reached a little deeper into my pocket for him and that’s how it began. Soon he was jumping from State Golden Gloves to that level where he was competing against the top 156 pounders in the country, Darnell Wilson, Jermain Taylor, Anthony Hanshaw, guys with a lot more experience.”

What Mora lacked in experience he made up with attitude, raw speed and a style that, even back then, was hard to predict.

Mora is a good classic one-two boxer with a snappy jab and sharp right hand. He can also box from the southpaw stance. He’s not a bad body puncher, and when he’s got a guy hurt he has “finisher” instincts. Also, unlike many fighters, Mora can punch and defend himself while backing up, and he’s very comfortable fighting along the ropes where he exhibits some of his best defense, mainly punch-blocking mixed in with good upper-body movement.

When Mora boxes in one particular style, he’s pretty good, but he’s not special. When he combines all of these ring attributes into his somewhat erratic but intuitive style, he’s a hard puzzle to solve, as the headstrong Angulo found out Wednesday afternoon.

In the first round, Mora got off with his jab, also landing a few straight rights from the outside, but just as it seemed like he was getting into a rhythm against the advancing Angulo, he backed up and caught the shorter pressure fighter with quick lefts and rights to the body. Angulo, however, was undeterred, and found a home for his right hook.

In the second round, Mora tied Angulo up on the inside, shoving the Mexican’s head down as he pivoted to the side and exploded with hard body shots (showing off some of the newly acquired physical strength from Ferguson’s workouts). Mora looked hittable when he was in close to Angulo, but he wasn’t as he was constantly twisting, turning, and rotating his shoulders as he moved in and out of range. He was also able to block a lot of incoming shots with his gloves.

In the third round, Mora mixed in boxing tall from the outside (jabbing to the body and head) with his inside game. He punched in spurts, but he was always moving (always thinking). I noticed that his movements were part of his combinations. At one point Mora jabbed to the body and head, feinted while backing up, turned his body to an angle while crouching low, and then exploded with a power head shot before stepping around Angulo in close (while pushing down Angulo’s head and locking arms), then pushing off and exploding with a right to the body before pivoting on his right foot and blasting Angulo with a left uppercut.

This all happened in the span of about four seconds. Mora was in control of a frustrated sparring partner.

He stayed in control in rounds four, five and six, getting off first and luring Angulo into surprise power shots from unpredictable angles and stances. Still, Angulo was able to get in good body shots of his own while Mora’s back was to the ropes, which almost always sparked a viscous exchange between the two. Had Ann Wolfe been present, she would have approved.

At the end of the fifth, Mora landed a body shot that must have hurt Angulo because the Mexican backpedaled for the remainder of the round. Mora continued to out-box, out-muscle and out-think Angulo through the sixth round, constantly moving and always positioning himself for the “strike” (now you know how he got his nickname).

In the seventh, the shirts came off. Both fighters were loose and fluid with their offense at this point. Without warning, Angulo nailed Mora to the midsection, paying the Snake back for the body shot landed in the fifth round. Mora’s face flashed with emotion and he lashed out with a lead right followed by a left hook to the body and head, backing Angulo up.

At the start of the eighth, Mora boxed well from the outside, evading most of Angulo’s rushing shots, but midway through the round, he landed two big left hooks and then a pair of right hooks from the southpaw stance before letting loose with three- and four-punch combinations from different angles that battered the 2004 Olympian around the ring. Again, Wolfe would have approved.

I could almost hear James Kirkland saying “They sparrin’ HOWD!”

Angulo’s trainer Clemente Medina reluctantly sent his fighter out for the ninth round and winced when the shorter, slower man ate a double jab from Mora.

Angulo, who sported a six pack that rivaled Mora’s, took a deep breath and landed some arm punches midway through the round. Mora answered back but for the first time during the sparring session his fatigue was visible. Angulo sensed this and pressed the issue, forcing Mora to the ropes and paying him back for the eighth-round punishment with a two-fisted body attack.

In the 10th round, Mora sucked it up along the ropes as the two traded weary punches the way badass Mexican and Mexican-American fighters did in the ‘70s and early ‘80s when going at in the 15th round of close championship fights.

“That’s the only way to do it,” Mora said afterward. “Kirkland is a beast; he’s stronger and faster than Angulo, but Angulo is in great shape. I needed that. I needed to be in there with someone who would throw 100 punches per round. The sparring with Kirkland was great, but I needed the change.”

Mora believes his strength going into the Ouma fight is his ability to adapt to change.

“My style is about versatility and adaptability,” he said. “I’m determined to overcome whatever adversity comes my way. I’m not a killer but I’m not going to let anyone hit me at will or take over the fight. I’m going to control the fight in my own way.”

Jeff Wald, a co-producer of The Contender and one of the promotional group’s top executives who was present for Wednesday’s sparring session, had a more simple take on Mora and his style:

“He’s smart. One thing I learned being around Ray [Leonard] and George [Foreman] is that smart wins.”