1. Fight Your Fight, not His
Photo by Toru Hanai/Reuters
Carlos “The Prince” Cuadras has an ability that I have only seen a handful of fighters exhibit. He has the both the power and intensity to force his opponent to completely abandon their original game plan and brawl with the more powerful Cuadras.
This skill was shown in his eighth round TKO of Richie Mepranum. Prior to facing Cuadras, Mepranum was primarily a boxer, only ending eight of his 31 victories in a knockout.
In his clash with The Prince however, Cuadras forced him to exchange on the inside and forced him against the ropes for most of the bout.
After teeing off on Mepranum for eight rounds, the referee saw no reason to further the punishment Mepranum was taking and called the bout before the start of the ninth.
In order for Roman Gonzalez to avoid ending the night looking like Richie Mepranum, he will have to match Carlos Cuadras’ intensity by punishing him with heavier blows and quickly sliding out of his opponent’s reach whenever Cuadras attempts to force his way inside.