This coming Saturday sees a number of great fights in the US with 3 world title bouts and and another really mout watering match up.
On paper the bout of the night is to take place in California where power punching Argentinian Lucas Martin Matthysse (37-3-0-1, 34) takes on unbeaten Ukrainian boxer Viktor Postol (27-0, 11) in a bout for the WBC Light Welterweight title. This is a puncher Vs boxer bout and really could see both men go through some spells, however the result really depends on whether Postol can make Matthysse respect him or not. If Postol's jab can be effective then he could well claim the title here, if not Matthysse will likely score a late stoppage again the talented, but light punching, Ukrainian. On the same card in California fans will see the all action Antonio Orozco (22-0, 15) take on Mexican veteran Humberto Soto (65-8-2-1, 35), who is fighting for the 77th time! Whilst we've loved following Soto's career we're expecting his 35 year old body to simply wear away here against the very aggressive Orozco who will be hoping to announce himself on the world stage with a win here. A second US show, in Ohio, features a couple of world title bouts in what could end up being a very entertaining show. The main event sees local enigma Adrien Broner (30-2, 22) take on Russian fighter Khabib Allakhverdiev (19-1, 9) in a bout for the vacant WBA Light Welterweight title. Both men come in to this one following a loss last time out but should make for a good match up together. Broner, looking for a 4th divisional world title, will likely need to let his hands go more than he has in recent bouts, whilst Allakhverdiev will be looking to become a 2-weight world champion but will know that he needs to dominate to win. This really could be something brilliant to watch. In the co-feature IBF Super Featherweight champion Jose Pedraza (20-0, 12) will be defending his belt against the in form Edner Cherry (34-6-0-1, 19). On paper it's hard to bet against the wonderful Pedraza who can box, brawl, fight or move however if there is a weakness it could be his chin and Cherry, who has won his last 6, can certainly punch at 130lbs. This could be a shut out for Pedraza or it could be a knockout for Cherry, it really is one of those bouts where one punch could see the title change. Saying that however we're expecting to see Pedraza retain his title.
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This coming Saturday is set to be a hectic day for American boxing fans who get treat to 3 separate shows, split across 3 channels.
For us the most exciting bout of the day, at least on paper, comes from Canada and is aired on USA Fox where we get Puncher Vs Boxer for the IBF Middleweight title. The puncher, is Canada's very own David Lemieux (33-2, 31), who is a very popular and heavy handed puncher with a pretty boy face. The boxer is former WBO champion Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam (31-1, 18), a Cameroonian based in France, a very talented boxer-mover with shaky chin. This bout really does have the hall marks of a must watch and looks like to be thoroughly entertaining. The chief under-card bout here is also an interesting looking contest, as former world title challengers collide. The bout will see the exciting Dierry Jean (28-1, 20) take on the under-rated Jerry Belmontes (19-6, 5) in what is really a must win bout for both men if they are looking to get themselves another world title fight in the foreseeable future. In Oakland we'll see a show featuring one of the sports most talented, but least exciting, fighters. The bout in question is the return to the ring of unbeaten American Andre Ward (27-0, 14) who takes on former world title challenger Paul Smith (35-5, 20) of the UK. It's hard to be too excited about this one considering Smith has lost his last two bouts to Arthur Abraham and Ward has been in active for more than 18 months, in fact Ward has only fought twice in the last 3 years. Despite that it's good to see Ward back in action and the sport has missed someone of his his ability. Notably this show will be aired on BET in America. The third show is in Las Vegas with a bout that has really excited some American fans. The contest that stands out here will see former world champions colliding as the enigmatic Adrien Broner (30-1, 22) takes on the strong and rough Shawn Porter (25-1, 16) in a catchweight bout. The catchweight, and subsequent rehydration limit, are expected to favour Broner, however the 3-weight former world champion hasn't looked great recently and Porter will know that his career really depends on a good performance here. We suspect Broner will win but we don't expect this to be a thriller as many fans seem to be hoping for. Some days are really good for boxing and this past Saturday was one of those days with a lot of action spread around the globe. It had something for everyone as well. From the casual fans there was Adrien Broner whilst for the hardcore fans there was Juan Francisco Estrada. For the Brits there was Carl Frampton whilst for the Argentinians there was Lucas Matthysse. And better yet they were spread over 3 shows. The first of the days major results was in Belfast as the hugely popular Carl Frampton (19-0, 13) claimed the IBF Super Bantamweight title with a clear and dominant decision victory over Spaniard Kiko Martinez (31-5, 23). Martinez, known for wins over Hozumi Hasegawa amongst others, was unable to impose himself against Frampton who at times looked exceptional. Despite clearly winning, and being impressive, Frampton didn't show anything to suggest he would be a threat to Guillermo Rigondeaux and in fact the gulf between those two is huge. Thankfully it seems he knows it and instead of calling out the Cuban has hinted at fights with Scott Quigg and Leo Santa Cruz, both easier and more exciting bouts. For Martinez this was his second loss to Frampton though he'll have felt happier this time considering he was knocked out last time he fought the talented Northern Irishman. Several hours after the Frampton/Martinez bout we moved on to action from the US with a televised card that was shown by Showtime. The card had big names on it but little in terms of competitive action. The first bout on the televised part of the Showtime card saw former world champion Andre Berto (29-3, 22) take a clear though thoroughly uninspiring decision victory over the toothless Steve Upsher Chambers (24-4-1, 6). Whilst some will excuse Berto's performance due to surgery it's unthinkable that he will become a force in boxing again, in fact if anything this bout suggested that he may have become a gatekeeper as opposed to a contender. For Upsher Chambers it was a chance to shine though he didn't take the chance at all and fought as if a win would force into witness protection. It's fair to say that both were very disappointing given that they were being televised by Showtime. Following the sleep inducing bout between Berto and Upsher Chambers we then got controversy as Argentinian puncher Lucas Martin Matthysse (36-3-0-1, 34) scored an anti-climatic stoppage against the previously unbeaten Mexican Roberto Ortiz (31-1-1, 24) who appeared to be counted out at 9 late in the second round. Ortiz clearly beat the 10 count but the referee, Benjy Esteves Jr, clearly botched the call to allow Matthysse a disappointingly early win. Matthysse retained his WBC Silver Light Welterweight title with this win though seemed to admit that he was unhappy with the ending. Matthysse did call out Danny Garcia after the fight though it seems he may need to do with a second option, someone like Adrien Broner, next time out. Talking about Adrien Broner (29-1, 22), boxing's very own clown, was in the main event and fought fellow American Emmanuel Taylor (18-3, 12) in a bout that ended up being incredibly competitive though further showed that Broner is not the fighter he thinks he is or that Showtime want to tell he is. Broner scored the win via a narrow unanimous decision that was punctuated by a 12th round knockdown that really saved his blushes and possibly saved him from a draw. This bout, if anything, showed that Broner still struggles with aggression and that he was certainly fortunate that Taylor lacked the power to make the most of his defensive issues. Broner did call out Matthysse after the fight and that does seem to be the logical next step for both though boxing rarely makes sense and we'd not be shocked if they went in their own directions. Whilst Broner was fighting Taylor in the US the hardcore fans tuned into action from Mexico as unified Flyweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada (27-2, 20) successfully defended his titles against the, almost, always fun to watch Giovani Segura (32-4-1, 28). We had really high hopes for this bout though need to admit we were disappointed by it. The fight had promised a war on paper though unfortunately Segura looked like a shadow of his usual self and was really dominated from the opening until he eventually saved by the referee in round 11. The one thing Segura showed through out the bout was that he was still tough, sadly for him that just prolonged the beating that Estrada gave him. If boxing is logical then the next step for Estrada is a rematch with Roman Gonzalez, who stopped Akira Yaegashi yesterday. toe claim the WBC title If that takes place then it will unify the WBA, WBO and WBC Flyweight titles and clearly define a #1 in the division. (Image courtesy of http://www.cyclonepromotions.com) In the last few weeks US network "Showtime" have come in for some pretty wide spread condemnation from boxing fans for allowing Al Haymon and "TMT" to put together some appalling matches between them. Those matches have included some real duds like Danny Garcia Vs Rod Salka, Lamont Peterson Vs Edgar Santana and Badou Jack Vs Jason Escalera. Sadly the same continues this weekend with some less than desirable matches been screened by the channel and being viewed by many casual fans as the highlight of the boxing weekend. Sadly those fans are being mislead as the key action is in Mexico and Japan. We'll start show however which features a trio of notable fighters all of whom will be backed strongly against their lesser known foes. The first of the 3 US bouts will be a contest between former Welterweight title holder Andre Berto (28-3, 22) and the little known Steve Upsher Chambers (24-3-1, 6). Berto, like so many American fighters, was dubbed as the future of the sport a few years ago. Since then however his career has hit a brick wall and he has suffered a trio of notable defeats to Victor Ortiz, Robert Guerrero and Jesus Soto Karass whilst also failing a drugs test and getting a controversial stoppage win over Jan Zaveck. This is must win for Berto though with his confidence likely at an all time low there is no certainty that he'll be able to stop the rot against a man knowing that a win will boost him to a major fight. Another bout on this card will see former 3 weight world champion Adrien Broner (28-1, 22) battle against Emmanuel Taylor (18-2, 12). Like Berto we heard the hype machine go into over-drive about Broner who some dubbed as the future of boxing whilst others anointed him as the successor to Floyd Mayweather Jr. At the end of the day however Broner looked poor against Marcos Maidana and Carlos Molina and many are now wondering whether he will ever even get close to the heady heights predicted of him. We would imagine Broner will have more than enough to take a win over Taylor here though some are building up Taylor as a real threat to Broner. For what it's worth Taylor looked like a fringe contender when he was easily beaten by Chris Algieri earlier this year, though Algieri has proven his worth with a win over Ruslan Provodnikov and has moved onto a mega fight with Manny Pacquiao. Thankfully the show isn't a total write off and we're expecting great things of the other bout on this card as the always fun to watch Lucas Martin Matthysse (35-3-0-1, 33) battles against unbeaten Mexican Roberto Ortiz (31-0-1, 24). This bout promises fire works though we wonder whether or not Ortiz will be able to stand up the power of "The Machine", if he can we could be in for a FOTY contender. Unfortunately not many can take Matthysse's power and we'd not be shocked to see Ortiz stopped early. In Mexico we have a fight that we think will be the fight of the night as unified Flyweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada (26-2, 19) defends his WBO and WBA "super" titles against the always fun Giovani Segura (32-3-1, 28). Estrada gave Roman Gonzalez arguably his toughest bout to date and has since gone on to make a name for himself as one of the stand out guys at 112lbs. The champion combines teak toughness, freakish strength, great skills and fantastic work rate whilst Segura is an out and out fighter who often looks crude but tends to win a brawl more often than not. It's hoped that the winner here will fight the winner of the Akira Yaegashi/Roman Gonzalez bout which will take place on Friday, if we do get the winners meeting then we'll have an almost completely unified Flyweight crown and a clear pound-for-pound fighter in the division. In Northern Ireland we get another interesting looking bout as IBF Super Bantamweight champion Kiko Martinez (31-4, 23) battles against the insanely popular Carl Frampton (18-0, 13). This bout is a rematch following Frampton's KO of Martinez last year. Since then however Martinez has looked like a monster 4 wins, all by stoppage, including victories over Jhonatan Tomero, Jeffrey Mathebula and Hozumi Hasegawa. As for Frampton he has scored stoppages over the limited Jeremy Parodi and former Light Flyweight champion Hugo Fidel Cazares following his win over Martinez. This is a chance for Martinez to avenge his only stoppage loss and an opportunity for Frampton to get his hands on a world title. A genuinely brilliant fight. (Image courtesy of http://www.boxnoticias.net) Mayweather, Khan, Broner and Love all win decisions in the US whilst Abraham defends in Germany5/4/2014 This past Saturday was the biggest day in boxing so far this year. It had the biggest name in boxing, it had two men who split opinion like no other, it had one of the most fan friendly fighters in the world, it had a heavy handed champion and it had a major upset. Of course the day, or rather night, was about money, Floyd "Money" Mayweather (46-0, 26) who faced Argentina slugger Marcos Maidana (35-4, 31) in a WBC/WBA Welterweight unification bout. The contest was widely seen as a mismatch but Maidana made sure to turn it in to a war and gave the #1 pound-for-pound fighter on the planet one of, if not the, toughest bout of his career. Maidana took the action to Mayweather and put him under the type of pressure that Mayweather isn't used to. This pressure made the contest compelling from the opening round though unfortunately the scoring left a lot to be desired. On watching the Mayweather/Maidana bout it seemed Maidana started like a house on fire and Mayweather played catch up. On the scorecards however things were different with two of the judges having Mayweather in the lead from round 3 onwards in what can only be called mystifying. We wouldn't argue with a close Mayweather victory but the cards really left some major question marks. Prior to the Mayweather/Maidana bout we had had 3 other bouts on the PPV broadcast. The first of those saw J'Leon Love (18-0-0-1, 10) go through a hell-like 5th round to take a decision over Marco Antonio Periban (20-2-1, 13). The bout was one that had great moments though out felt like Love's jab was the key punch as he took a fair decision, albeit one with odd scores again. The second bout on the show saw the return to the ring of Adrien Broner (28-1, 22) who over-came Carlos Molina (17-2-1, 7) in a bout that was very competitive despite what the score-cards suggested. The cards were basically filled in before the opening round though Molina gave a great account of himself and really gave Broner a serious test in what was supposed to be little more than a confidence builder for Broner, a former 3-weight world champion. On this performance Broner is there for the taking by any top 10 fighter at 140 or 147. Whilst the Mayweather/Maidana bout stole the show with some really good action one man who shared the plaudits was Britain's Amir Khan (29-3, 19) who over-came the tough Luis Collazo (35-6, 18) in a mature and controlled performance. Khan showed a new found intelligence to his boxing, holding up close, boxing on the move and and surprisingly dropped Collazo 3 times in a dominant and self assured display. It was one of the best performances of Khan's career, though it was also one of Collazo's worst with the American fighting like an idiot with his hands down. The whole US card was open for criticism, as seen in Takahiro Onaga's recent "Taka's Title Shot" article, but on the whole the main event was exciting enough, and controversial enough, to keep fans talking about it suggesting it was a show plenty enjoyed even if they aren't in full agreement about the scoring. Prior to the US action fans had been given the opportunity to see WBO Super Middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (40-4, 28) defend his title for the first time since reclaiming it from Robert Stieglitz. Abraham took on the game, albeit light hitting, Nikola Sjekloca (26-2, 8) and took home a decision. From watching the bout we felt Abraham deserved the victory, despite not looking his best, unfortunately we saw another judge who seemed inept at his job as he scored the contest 119-111 to Abraham, a score was simply indefensible. (Image courtesy of http://www.sho.com) When May comes around there seems to only be one man worth talking about, Floyd "Money" Mayweather (45-0, 26). The unbeaten American generates money, attention and debate like no other active fighter. Some have described him as being bigger than the sport, others have suggested that when he retires boxing will be sent into a dark age until a new star is born. He is one of the two faces of a boxing generation alongside Manny Pacquiao and it seems that if you like one you must hate the other with a passion. Mayweather will be continuing his trend of fighting on the first weekend on May as he battles Argentinian slugger Marcos Maidana (35-3, 31) in what will be one of, if not the, biggest money fight of the year. The bout is "all about Benjamin's" for many though it's a bout that will unify the WBC and WBA world titles at 147lbs and give Mayweather a chance to avenge the loss of his "baby brother" Adrien Broner who was shocked by an inspired Maidana last year. We're not giving Maidana much of a chance though we're hoping he gives a better effort that either Saul "Canelo" Alvarez or Robert "The Ghost" Guerrero did in recent bouts with Mayweather. Neither Guerrero or Alvarez really put forth much of an effort and seemed to resign themselves to losing before the first bell, hopefully Maidana goes in with the bad-ass intentions that he is known for. On the same card the Mayweather/Maidana fight we have several other interesting bouts, two of which feature former Maidana opponents. One of those will be the aforementioned Adrien Broner (27-1, 22) who will be hoping to bounce back from his loss to Maidana when he battles Carlos Molina (17-1-1, 7). Molina, not to be confused with the Light Middleweight of the same name, isn't very good and has been picked as a "safe opponent" for Broner. Lets not forget just a year ago people were christening Broner as the heir to the Mayweather throne and future face of boxing, he is now fighting for his career and for this bout his career really should be very safe. A man who beat both Molina and Maidana, and was actually in the running for the fight with Mayweather, is Amir Khan (28-3, 19) who has a tricky assignment himself. Khan, one of the most famous names in boxing right now, will be in a serious crossroads fight with the resurgent Luis Collazo (35-5, 18). Collazo is an unlucky fighter who ran both Ricky Hatton and Andre Berto close in fights many felt he deserved to win, though in recent bouts he has been in form winning his last 4. For Khan this is a must win and anything but a stirring performance will see him ruled out of a Mayweather fight in September. The next most significant bout to the trio on the American show is in Germany as multi-time world champion Arthur Abraham (39-4, 28) defends his WBO Super Middleweight title against the once beaten Nikola Sjekloca (26-1, 8). It's hard to view this as anything but an "easy" first defence for Abraham however Sjekloca did prove his toughness in an entertaining scrap with Sakio Bika last year. Bika dominated Sjekloca but couldn't finish him and we'd be a lil shocked if Abraham could finish him inside 12 rounds. (Image courtesy of The13thround and Golden Boy Promotions) |
InternationalWe know that not every fight involves an Asian fighter but a lot of fights do affect Asian fighter. As a result we've decided to add this new section to Asian boxing where we look at selected International bouts. Archives
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