Alexis Rocha vs Raul Curiel Preview December 14th, 2024
Welterweight prospect Alexis Rocha of Santa Ana, California returns to the ring this Saturday, December 14th when he faces unbeaten Raul Curiel of Mexico. The 12-rounder from Ontario, California can be seen live in most nations on DAZN. Rocha lost his NBO NABO Welterweight Title in October, 2023 when he was stopped in the sixth round of a slugfest by Giovani Santillan and then bounced in March by stopping Fredrick Lawson after seven rounds and earned a 10-round unanimous decision over Santiago Dominguez in July for the vacant WBO NABO Welterweight Title. Curiel last fought in April when he stopped Jorge Marron Jr after just 91 seconds with punishing body shots to defend his NABF Welterweight Crown.
Rocha vs Curiel Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Raul Curiel -115
- Alexis Rocha -115
My Pick
The 27-year-old Rocha is a southpaw who enters the ring with a record of 25-2 with 16 Ko’s and has 157 rounds of pro experience under his belt since making his debut in 2016. As an amateur, Rocha became the youngest boxer to win a gold medal at the 2012 Junior Olympics when he was just 14 years old and was a six-time amateur national champion.
Rocha stands 5-feet-10-inches tall with a 70-inch reach and carries pretty good power in his fists as 64 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage and has halted six of his past 10 opponents. Rocha’s first pro defeat came at the hands of Rashidi Ellis by way of 12-round unanimous decision in October, 2020 in a shot at the vacant WBC International Welterweight Title and his second was the sixth-round KO to Giovani Santillan last year.
He captured captured the vacant WBC Continental Americas Welterweight Crown in March, 2018 with a first-round stoppage of Miguel Perez and successfully defended it against Shoki Sakai, Berlin Abreu, Roberto Valenzuela Jr and Brad Soloman while stopping Abreu in the eighth round and Valenzuela after five. Rocha then won the vacant WBO NABO Welterweight Belt in July, 2022 with a 10-round unanimous decision over Luis Alberto Veron and defended it against Jesus Campos, George Ashie and Anthony Young and also had a ninth-round stoppage win over Blair Cobbs earlier in his career.
As for Curiel, the 28-year-old carries around a perfect mark of 15-0 with 13 Ko’s and has boxed 72 rounds since making his pro debut in 2017. As an amateur, Curiel earned wins over Zaur Abdullaev, Carlos Adames, Lamont Roach and Ted Cheeseman and fought in the World Series of Boxing. He also participated at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro as a light welterweight and won a gold medal at the 2012 AIBA World Championships as well as at the 2013 Olympic Cup Championships in Puerto Rico and the 2013 Golden Gloves Tournament Washington D.C.
Curiel measures 5-feet-8-inches tall with a 70-inch reach, so gives up two inches in height to Rocha. As far as power is concerned, Curiel is definitely no slouch as 86.7 per cent of his victories have come by stoppage. He’s gone the distance just twice as a pro as he beat Jesus Sanchez Quiroz via a four-round majority decision in his pro debut and downed Ryan Pino by a six-round unanimous decision in 2018. Curiel won the vacant NABF Welterweight title in 2021 when he stopped Ferdinand Kerobyan in the ninth round and has defended it five times against Kendo Castaneda, Brad Solomon, Courtney Pennington, Elias Diaz and Jorge Marron, all by stoppage.
As a pro, Dominguez won the vacant WBC USA Silver Welterweight Title in 2019 and the vacant WBC Fecarbox Belt in 2020. He then added the vacant WBC Latino Welterweight Crown in 2021. Just seven of his 27 opponents have entered the ring with a losing record but Dominguez hasn’t really faced any contenders as of yet so will be taking a step up in class this weekend. His biggest wins have been against Daniel Armando Valenzuela, Carlos Urias Guerena, Fabian Lyimo, Jose Rosales, Jesus Antonio Rubio and Ricardo Lara.
Prediction…
Big things have been expected of both Curiel and Rocha and they should now be entering their prime. This is a great test for both boxers as they hope to climb the rankings and soon earn a world title shot. Rocha took a bit of a beating from Giovani Santillan as he was dropped three times but showed a hell of a lot of heart in that fight though and bounced back well with his win over Fredrick Lawson. He definitely needs to be wary of Curiel’s power, skills and relentlessness and will need to let his hands go as much as possible while depending on his chin and body to hold out. I’m undecided on a winner here as it could go either way, but have a feeling that Curiel will remain undefeated with another victory.
Curiel’s aggressiveness and power could undo Rocha.
Play: Curiel -115 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Alexis Rocha betting • Raul Curiel betting