After a year away from the ring following a loss to James Kirkland in November of 2011, junior middleweight Alfredo Angulo is ready to return to the ring against Raul Casarez on the undercard of the Abner Mares-Anselmo Moreno fight at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif Saturday night.
A battle outside of the ring with immigrations issues caused Angulo’s return to the ring to be put off as he spent seven months in an immigration detention center in California.
Known for his exciting fights in the ring, Angulo has produced 17 knockouts in his 20 victories in the ring. He has been known to trade punches with anyone, something that caused his KO loss to Kirkland in his last outing.
Now with 2011 trainer of the year Virgil Hunter, Angulo said one difference in Hunter’s training method’s is that he does not like his fighters to get hit. If this means losing a little of the excitement in the fight along the way, Angulo should be fine with that as any fighter could benefit from getting hit less.
Angulo is on the cusp of being considered a top 10 junior middleweight and with a few more wins. A title fight could be a real possibility in the next two years or so.
Casarez is a great comeback opponent for Angulo after a year hiatus, as Casarez is not exactly known as being too active or fast in the ring. With Angulo’s speed and power, an early stoppage is almost guaranteed Saturday night.
Sparring with the likes of Amir Khan will only add an extra element to Angulo’s fight game. Khan is one of the most fundamentally sound fighters in the game and training with world-class talent should rub off Angulo’s career going forward.
Nervousness should not be a real factor for Angulo although he did state that he would be a little nervous before the fight. Once he lands his first punch and his adopted hometown crowd gets behind him, we should see the Angulo that were used to seeing in the ring.
