BUNEMA SHOULDN'T BE OVERLOOKED By Chris Robinson

Jermain ‘Bad Intentions’ Taylor has breezed through his early pro career without any hints of danger, amassing a 19-0 record, 14 of those wins have come by KO. Taylor brings to the ring an excellent blend of speed, power, and fluid combination punching. He also appears to be strong as an ox and has many in the boxing world hailing him as boxing’s best young prospect.

I would put Miguel Cotto right up there with Mr. Taylor, but it's obvious that the young man is a force to be reckoned with. Some people have even gone as far to say that the Little Rock, Arkansas native will be ready to challenge Bernard Hopkins for Middleweight bragging honors in as little as a year's time. Such claims aren’t completely out of the question, but before we fast forward to a Hopkins-Taylor showdown I suggest we seriously size up Taylor’s next foe Alex ‘The Technician’ Bunema.

I have been an Alex Bunema fan for about five years now and for good reasons. The Kinshasa, Zaire native is a gritty customer and when he brings his A game, the kid can really fight. He suffered early losses to Anthony Jones and Kassim Ouma, but under odd circumstances. In the Jones fight, Bunema was caught cold in the first round at an early stage of his career and has since learned from that fight. Against Kassim ‘The Dream’ Ouma he was caught up in a give and take battle which saw his corner stop the fight after the 4th round due to a broken nose and constant bleeding that couldn’t be stopped.

Bunema rebounded to seize wins over respected foes like J.C. Candelo, Tony Marshall, and Derrick Graham, while drawing with Michael Lerma in a fight he deserved to win.

In October of 2001 Bunema went up against Bronco McKart, with the winner getting a crack at the IBF belt held by Winky Wright. The bout was a close, tactical fight and Bunema appeared to do enough to get the nod. The judges thought otherwise and McKart was awarded the ‘W’.

Bunema drew with Carlos Bojorquez 7 months later and has since slid under the radar, piling up 4 straight decision wins against unknown opposition. It seemed as though Bunema might disappear from the boxing landscape but come March 27th he has an opportunity to rejuvenate his career against Taylor on HBO's Boxing After Dark.

As much of a Bunema fan as I am and as solid a pro as he is, I don’t see him upsetting Taylor. First off, Bunema is no longer trained by the excellent Curtis Cokes, the man who seems to bring out the best in his fighters. And second, Bunema is going up in weight against a strong, young, hungry fighter who is looking to make a statement in front of his hometown crowd in Arkansas.