Preview of Cletus Seldin vs. Jose Angulo

Cletus Seldin is scheduled to fight Jose Angulo on March 15 at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York, USA. The card is being promoted by Tom Loeffler's 360 Promotions.

Seldin is a 37 year old puncher whose record is 27-1 with 23 knockouts. His best win might be an eleventh round knockout victory over Zab Judah to capture the NABA junior welterweight title back in 2019. Seldin then fought only twice over the next four years. This will be the Hebrew Hammer's second fight in five months, a welcomed increase in activity. In October, he knocked out Patrick Okine in a slugfest.

A 27 year old with a record of 16-7 (9 KOs), Jose Angulo is the junior welterweight champion of Ecuador. He is 16-0 in his home country and 0-7 in the United States, including the territory of Puerto Rico. In Ecuador, he has only faced three winning opponents and those three combined for a mediocre 18-12-3 record. In the United States, his opponents were a combined 75-4-1 when Angulo faced them (not including Seldin). Angulo fought twice on ShoBox, home to top prospects through the years. Some of his other losses were to former world champion Alberto Machado and two well-regarded prospects Ernesto Merchado and Cain Sandoval.

Because of his uneven record, it's hard to rate Angulo. Perhaps his most enlightening fight came on ShoBox against Alejandro Guerrero, who was 11-0 when they fought in 2020. Angulo was competitive and lost by majority decision. Guerrero has since lost four straight.

Angulo has the tools to beat Cletus Seldin. Jose is athletic with quick feet. He has the ability to box and move, a style which could negate Seldin's power. The problem for Angulo is he never boxes and moves for more than a few brief moments at a time. Instead, he tends to stand in punching range with his left low and throw hard two and three punch combinations. Angulo falls into lulls too often and just covers up. He almost never tries to counter his opponent's attack, and his jab doesn't serve much purpose.

Jose Angulo is from the coastal town of Guayaquil and has fought many times in Ecuador's mountainous capital city of Quito, so he's likely endured the ten-hour bus ride down the ten thousand-foot Andean mountain range. That means he oozes courage. The Ecuadorian has a decent chin, but his punch resistance has been known to fade significantly throughout fights, resulting in four stoppage losses. He withstood many clean shots from Guerrero, but Alberto Machado beat him down by the eighth.

If Angulo can stick and move all fight, he's got a chance to nick a decision, but his low left, lack of counter punching, and willingness to cover up when receiving incoming fire all formulate a recipe for a Cletus Seldin knockout victory.

This bout is scheduled for eight rounds, but if Angulo doesn't box, look for it to end in the fourth or fifth.

Josh Feldman to Fight in March

Junior middleweight Josh Feldman is scheduled to fight on March 8 at Box Camp Booysens in Johannesburg, South Africa. The 19 year old from Cape Town is 2-0.

Feldman, a southpaw, won both of his fights by decision. He is fluid, throws hard combinations, and is defensively responsible. His next step is to build his attack throughout the fight, which is not always easy in four-rounders.

In preparation for his third pro fight, Feldman has been training with another 2-0 South African prospect named Owen Venganayi. No opponent has been named for the March 8 contest.

Stefi Cohen to Fight in March

Dr. Stefanie Cohen is scheduled on fight on March 1 at Tropical Park Equestrian Center in Miami, Florida, USA. The card is promoted by Mundo Boxing.

The are a few interesting notes surrounding this bout. Cohen has been training with her old coach Dr. Pedro Diaz. She had linked up with Pedro Santiago when she moved to Southern California. Both are good trainers although Diaz is more known in the sport.

Under Diaz's tutelage, Cohen mostly boxed behind her jab at range. Because of her short stature, impressive strength as a world record-holding powerlifter, and late start in boxing, it probably makes more sense for her to be a mauler who roughs up her opponents on the inside. It's a credit to Cohen and her coaches that she has made so much progress with her technique, but it feels like trying to reinvent the wheel.

This fight is scheduled to take place in the super bantamweight division (122 pounds), which seems like a good fit for Cohen. She cut all the way down to flyweight (112 pounds) for her last fight, which couldn't have been easy.

She is scheduled to take part in a six-rounder, which would be her longest bout. She has struggled with stamina issues in several four-rounders throughout her career, so the jump up in rounds before showing she can sustain an attack for four rounds could be presumptuous. Cohen's stamina issues have come in fights where she has been 118 pounds or below, so the higher weight could serve to rectify concerns about her endurance.

This bout marks Cohen's seventh career fight. She last fought in June and has been in the ring twice each year since she turned pro in 2021. The 31 year old started boxing in her late twenties, so more activity in the ring is the best way to overcome her late start. Of course, it must be understood it isn't easy for fighters to get on a card regularly these days. Last fall, Cohen trained with legends Carolina Duer and Yesica Bopp as well as prospect Lupita Medina. Stefi has been getting good work, but sparring isn't the same as fighting.

Cohen is managed by her significant other Tristan Hamm, which might be the most treif name there is. Hamm, an outdoor influencer from Canada, knocked out a Logan Paul lookalike last Saturday on a Misfits card. Incidentally, Boxrec lists Misfits boxing as something distinct from professional boxing. Hopefully, Cohen's opponent on March 1 is a fighter the caliber she has faced thus far and not a lookalike.

No opponent has been announce for Cohen as of yet.

Eric Seelig Elected to Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame

Erich "Eric" Seelig was elected to the Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame in the pioneer category as part of its 2024 class. Seelig began boxing professionally at the age of 21 in 1931. Eleven months into his career, he won the German middleweight title. A month after Hitler gained power in 1933, and a day before the Reichstag fire, Seelig won the German light heavyweight title. The Nazis soon stripped him of his titles and sent him into exile. That expulsion ultimately saved his life.

Seelig fled to France where he lost two decisions to Marcel Thil, but otherwise performed well. In 1935, Seelig immigrated to the United States. A top contender, he lost close decisions to Billy Conn and Fred Apostoli. Eric received a shot at the world middleweight title in 1939. The champion, Al Hostak, stopped him in one. Seelig's best win was a seventh round TKO victory in 1935 over an older Mickey Walker, a legendary two-division world champion.

After he retired from boxing 1940, Eric moved to Atlantic City with his wife where he trained fighters. He passed away in 1984. Seelig is also a member of the the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame (1992) and the New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame (1999).

Erich Seelig

Other Jewish inductees include Sampson Lewkowicz, Randy Gordon, and Jay Larkin, who were all elected in the special contributor category this year for the Atlantic City Hall.