MANFREDO vs ESPINA: WHO HAS THE HOMETOWN ADVANTAGE?

 

By Oleg Bershadsky



 
 

 

 

Since Peter Manfredo Jr. received his 15 minutes of fame his career has been on the rise. Despite losing in the “Contender” finale he managed to win over many fans and to develop a strong loyal following in his home state of Rhode Island. Joey Spina and his undefeated record will try to put an end to Manfredo’s recent good fortune, which is presently at its climax after he managed to impressively defeat Scott Pemberton. However, if Spina wins, then he will likely take Manfredo’s place as the “pride of Providence.” This is an important juncture in each of their careers and the winner will likely be rewarded with higher profile fights in the near future.

  • Keys to Victory (Manfredo)

Peter Manfredo is by far the superior boxer of the two. He should do exactly what he did in the Pemberton fight which is move around the ring, while punching from different angles. This kept the veteran Scott Pemberton off-balance and should do the same to Spina. The key for Peter is to stay off the ropes and keep the fight in the middle of the ring because when on the ropes he is most susceptible to getting hurt with a big shot. In the end, if Manfredo remains patient he should have plenty of opportunities to land clean counter punches and try to discourage Spina from letting his hands go. In this fight Manfredo has once ace up his sleeve which he didn’t have for most of his career. That ace is Freddie Roach who appears so far to have made a tremendous difference in Manfredo’s boxing ability and ring acumen.

  • Keys to Victory (Spina)

Joey Spina is the bigger and more powerful boxer, who should use those physical attributes to his advantage. Spina should try to bully Manfredo around the ring and force him to fight on the ropes. As a precursor to this strategy it would be wise for Spina to focus on the body in the earlier rounds in order to try and slow down Manfredo from effectively moving around the ring. Spina’s best chance in winning the fight lies in his ability to first turn it into a brawl where Manfredo’s boxing ability can be minimized and second in his power which if he can hurt Manfredo early could give him a big edge.

The edge in the fight should definitely be given to Manfredo who is a better polished boxer and is expected to run circles around Spina. However, given Spina’s punching power it would be a mistake to consider him a severe underdog. Hopefully the winner of this fight will be prompted to face a top 10 rated super middleweight in his next fight to solidify the right to be called a legitimate “contender.” There is only so long you can protect a fighter and it is about time both Manfredo and Spina start fighting some of the top 10 guys who are still in their prime. Overall all I look for an exciting fight between these two boxers who should have extremely zealous fans cheering them on.

10-10-2006
 

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