GRADES: REGIS PROGRAIS, DANIELITO ZORRILA, TIM TSZYU, SAM GOODMAN & MORE

By: Jay Calderon

A mixed back of fights over this past weekend.

First, we had Regis Prograis narrowly escape with his 140 pound gold against Danielito Zorrilla in front of his hometown fans.

Then, we had two quality results in Australia, with Jr. Middleweight contender Tim Tszyu crushing Carlos Ocampo in about half a round and Sam Goodman pulling off the minor upset over previously-undefeated Ra'eese Aleem in a 122 pound eliminator.

So, without much more rambling, let's hand out these Grades:

REGIS PROGRAIS: C

RESULT: DEF. DANIELITO ZORRILLA, 12SD (JR. WELTERWEIGHT)

Well, that definitely wasn't the performance you were looking for if you're Regis Prograis.

Prograis was lined up for the biggest push of his career: Jr. Welterweight is definitely heating up, Regis had just won the title in a great performance over Jose Zepeda and was now backed by a big promoter in Matchroom.

Handling Danielito Zorrilla in exciting fashion would have been a huge step in the right direction. Instead, you have some questioning if Prograis even won the fight.

Whether or not you feel as though the result was correct, it can't be denied that the stock in Prograis took a hit after the lackluster performance where the Louisiana native just didn't get enough going most of the time.

It must be said that Zorrilla didn't really want to fight all that much or engage. But if you're Prograis, you had to hope for a better performance, regardless of the opponent's tactics.

DANIELITO ZORRILLA: C-

RESULT: LOSS TO REGIS PROGRAIS, 12SD (JR. WELTERWEIGHT)

You can make a reasonable argument that Danielito Zorrilla should hold a portion of the 140 pound gold right now. However, the question is whether or not Zorrilla himself made a big enough argument in the ring.

Zorrilla had his moments against Regis Prograis, but he failed to take the next step and really force the issue. Zorrilla's performance was that of someone looking to steal the title more than take it from the champion. Now, I'm not someone that believes you need to dominate the champion. No, you just need to win more rounds. But did Zorrilla do enough to win those close rounds?

It's tough to say.

What's easy to understand is that Prograis is the star, he is the one with the backing now. You're also fighting in his hometown if you're Zorrilla. While you shouldn't have to win convincingly, you should at least make that you're effort.

Zorrilla didn't do that and it likely cost him this fight. Though, the scorecards would have made it very tough, anyway...

TIM TSZYU: A

RESULT: DEF. CARLOS OCAMPO, 1KO (JR. MIDDLEWEIGHT)

Let's just keep this one like the Tim Tszyu's win over Carlos Ocampo, and by that I mean short and sweet.

Ocampo isn't a world-beater and has failed in his steps up the ladder. That said, any time you blast out a decent opponent right before a world title fight has to be a great feeling.

Tszyu may or may not defeat Jermell Charlo, but he's looking as ready as he ever will and seems to be peaking at just the right time.

CARLOS OCAMPO: F

RESULT: LOSS TO TIM TSZYU, 1KO (JR. MIDDLEWEIGHT)

Yeah...not the sort of performance Carlos Ocampo was looking to put forth.

The knock on Ocampo going into the Tim Tszyu encounter was that he had failed at the top level, and was blown out in a round by Errol Spence in, really, his only other major fight.

So, how does he top that? Well, he gets on a plane, travels halfway across the world and gets knocked out -- somehow -- even faster than in the Spence encounter.

I don't love handing out F grades, but you can't look at this as anything other than the worst case scenario.

SAM GOODMAN: A+

RESULT: DEF. RA'EESE ALEEM, 12SD (JR. FEATHERWEIGHT)

In perhaps the best overall performance of the weekend, Sam Goodman pulled off the small upset with a decision win over previously-unbeaten Ra'eese Aleem.

Now, to be fair, the fight was close. And you might be tempted to think Goodman got the benefit of the doubt in his native Australia against the American. However, that's just not the case here.

Goodman wasn't having his way early on, trying to sit back and box, a tactic the Aleem team (nice ring to it) claimed they expected prior to the contest. So, instead of panicking or getting silly, Goodman adjusted by applying smart pressure with feints and jabs, landing the overall better work in the process.

He showed poise, timing, punch variety and, of course, an ability to adjust in the ring against a very solid opponent. Couldn't have been much better for Goodman.

Next up for Goodman could be a shot at title-holder Marlon Tapales -- another damn good fight.

RA'EESE ALEEM: B

RESULT: LOSS TO SAM GOODMAN, 12SD (JR. FEATHERWEIGHT)

While he suffered the first loss of his professional career, I don't have too many overbearingly negative things to say about the performance of Ra'eese Aleem.

Could Aleem have tried to push forward a bit more in the second half of the fight and made it a messier fight? Sure. He might have had more success forcing exchanges a bit more. However, he was in against another quality fighter, across the globe and he fell just short. It happens.

Aleem will need to regroup and come again. There's nothing wrong with a loss when it happens at a high level. It's only a problem if you can't recover.

Aleem is talented enough that I believe he can rebound if given the time and opportunities to do so.

LINKS:

- SCHEDULE & ODDS

- RESULTS

-