Mijares says he’ll be surprised if he beats Berchelt

Boixngnews24.com

By Dan Ambrose: Former super flyweight champion Christian Mijares (58-8-2, 26 KOs) says he’ll be surprised if he defeats WBC super featherweight champion Miguel Berchelt (32-1, 28 KOs) in their fight next month on February 10 at the Plaza de Toros in Cancun, Mexico. This will be the 17th title fight for Mijares.

Mijares will be retiring after his title shot against the 28-yearold Berchelt on February 10. It’s nice for Mijares’ boxing fans that he’s being given a farewell title shot against Berchelt, even though he hardly deserves the fight. It’s sad news that Mijares will be retiring from the sport, but it’s about time. He’s been a pro for a long time, and he’s not done much with his career since 2011.

Mijares has got to hope that his experience as a pro will allow him to compete with the younger, stronger, faster, bigger and more talented Berchelt. With everything that is going against Mijares in this fight, it’s doubtful that he’ll see the final bell.

The 36-year-old Mijares has likely been selected by Berchelt’s management based off his name recognition in Mexico and his past accomplishments rather than what he’s done in the last 5 years of his career, as he’s not done much to deserve a world title shot. Mijares was a good fighter 7 years ago, but he’s been fading ever since and losing when he’s stepped it up against better opposition like Leo Santa Cruz and Victor Terrazas. Mijares has only fought 3 times at super featherweight, and those fights weren’t against the talented guys.

Mijares is a decent fighter, but he doesn’t belong inside the ring with a guy like Berchelt. Mijares is going to get destroyed by Berchelt on February 10. Mijares wouldn’t match up with some of Berchelt’s recent opponents Takashi Miura and Francisco Vargas. Those guys would likely smash Mijares to pieces if they had the good luck of fighting the old former super flyweight champion. Mijares was a good fighter nearly a decade ago when he was competing a 115, but he’s far out of his best weight class and he no power to keep a talented young fighter like Berchelt off of him.

“Thanks to the people who are giving me up for being finished, for dead; thanks to them I get up with the intention of continuing working. They can be in for a big surprise on February 10,”said Mijares to ESPN Deportes. ”It would be a surprise even for me, because I am 36 years old. I am at the end of my career. I have announced my retirement. It will be a great surprise, but nothing is impossible, if you work hard. I have experience, I take care of myself, I am still active, and among the best in the world, although people do not value it so much,” said Mijares.

Mijares’ best wins of his long 21-year pro career have been against Tomas Rojas, Luis Maldonado, Katsushige Kawashima, Reynaldo Lopez, Jorge Arce, Jose Navarro, and Alexander Munoz. The win over Arce was a big one for Mijares in April 2007. A lot of boxing fans at the time thought that Arce would beat Mijares. They were proven wrong.

Mijares has one-sided losses to Vic Darchinyan [9th round KO], Nehomar Cermeno (x 2), Victor Terrazas and Leo Santa Cruz. Mijares wasn’t competitive with Santa Cruz. That was 12 rounds of Mijares soaking up punishment in their March 2014.