The bulk of boxing is done for the year but a few struggles remain. Several took place this holiday week, with young talent in the spotlight on a Christmas night show on Fox. 

The Fox card was designed around showcasing Joey Spencer and Vito Mielnicki but by the end of the day there were other talents there to catch an eye. Spencer and Mielnicki took care of their assignments, with Spencer scoring an eye-catching knockout and the still-teenage Mielnicki showing some developmental strides.

Neither really stole the show. 24-year old Cuban Yoelvis Gomez might have, stopping Clay in the very first round. Collard had only been stopped once in his career and never so emphatically. Gomez is just 5-0 with all five wins by knockout. The ceiling may be high for the young Jr. middleweight.      

Futures: For all three men mentioned, along with Kenneth Sims Jr. and Rajon Chance who also won Saturday, 2022 will be about more reps and whether they get slotted in the right places, on the right cards, to develop fan interest. Sims is farther along, already 28 and riding a four-fight win streak after a rough patch where he went 1-2-1. Gomez fights in one of the most talent rich locations on the scale so there is no need to rush him. He may mature into a full fledged middleweight around the time a lot of talent currently at welterweight and Jr. middleweight is battling at 160 lbs. Gomez’s timing could be to his benefit.

While neither Spencer or Mielnicki might quite have the look of a blue chip prospect, PBC is clearly investing in them. Are they looking for something along the lines of the sort of regional east coast attractions that have been successful in the past? They might be and it’s not an unwise investment. If one or both end up developing into something, it works. If they build enough fan following to develop someone else off beating them later on, that works too.      

A Robbery in the Dominican?

Opinions vary but the strongest related to the mid-week clash between strawweights Vic Saludar and Erick Rosa seems to be that Saludar got the business. This was despite Saludar being officially knocked down twice and returning the favor once. It’s an interesting time for anything related to the WBA title scene. Consolidation efforts to clean up the sanctioning body’s title mess are continuing, meaning Rosa is in line for a crack at long reigning primary titlist Knockout COP Freshmart. 

Futures: Assuming the WBA doesn’t untrack, the obvious showdown will be Freshmart-Rosa in 2022. Could Saludar protest for a rematch? It’s possible though the best case scenario might be hoping for a shot at the winner of a WBA clarification clash. Strawweight can be hard to get excited about, even among the most hardcore fans, but with this situation and the looming Petchmanee CP Freshmart-Wanheng Menayothin rematch next month, it’s as much life as the division has had for a while.  

Cliff’s Notes…

For those who can see it, enjoy the Kazuto Ioka scrap on New Year’s Eve…For those who choose to purchase it, enjoy the Luis Ortiz-Charles Martin card on New Year’s Day…And to all the readers at BoxingScene, have a Happy 2022.   

Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, a member of the International Boxing Research Organization, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America.