This Saturday is a really exciting day for fight fans with notable bouts taking place on both sides of the Atlantic.. Much of the action comes from the US with the first really exciting bout Stateside coming from Hidalgo, Texas where former Lightweight champions collide as Omar Figueroa (24-0-1, 18) takes on Ricky Burns (37-4-1, 11). Coming in to this bout Burns looks like he is on the downlide whilst Figueroa looks like he's a very dangerous fighter but one who is set to be plagued by serious hand issues in the not so distant future. We suspect Figueroa runs over burns but we're not sure how far he'll go at Light Welterweight. In Houston, Texas, we have more notable action with a mouth watering main event bout between Saul Alvarez (44-1-1, 31) and James Kirkland (32-1, 28). Alvarez is widely tipped as the favourite for the bout though Kirkland has the power to potentially test the Mexican star in what should be a brilliant contest. In the co-feature the unbeaten Frankie Gomez (18-0, 13) battles against veteran Humberto Soto (65-8-2-1, 35) in a real cross road fight for both men. Gomez is stepping up in a big way though Soto knows a loss will be the end of his dreams of becoming a 4-weight world champion. Really good match up. In Germany we have an interesting double header. The main event there will see Felix Sturm (39-4-3-1, 18) battle against heavy handed Russian slugger Fedor Chudinov (12-0, 10) for the vacant WBA Super Middleweight title. The 36 year old Sturm is in a must win situation whilst Chudinov, the younger brother of Dmitry Chudinov, knows a win will help him break out into being a serious threat at 168lbs. The co-feature will see Jack Culcay (19-1, 10) battle against Maurice Weber (21-1-1, 8) for the WBA interim Light Middleweight title. Culcay was a notable amateur though has frustrated since turning professional we do however understand Culcay getting this level of opportunity. Weber on the the other hand has achieved very little and it's difficult to see how he's getting this shot. In the UK fans get a disappointing card that features some notable names in serious mismatches. Among those is a contest between Olympic champion Anthony Joshua (11-0, 11) and Raphael Zumbano Love (36-10-1, 29), with Heavyweight hopeful Joshua expecting to get a 12th straight stoppage, fellow Olympic champion Luke Campbell (10-0, 8) battling against Aboubeker Bechelaghem (9-6-1) and the very promising Callum Smith (15-0, 11) battling against Olegs Fedotovs (19-21, 13). Notably Kal Yafai (14-0, 9), who was originally announced to be fighting Rey Megrino, has remained on the card though will be fighting the tough but very limited Isaac Quaye (27-10-1, 18).
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November 22nd-Cleverly Vs Bellew II, McDonnell defends Bantamweight title and a huge female clash!11/20/2014 This coming weekend is a huge one with major fights taking place one after another, after another, after another. It's great to see so many good fights in such a short span of time and even better than a bunch of them feature Asian fighters. Outside of the Asian fighters there are still a lot of great fighters out there. One of the big headline bouts of the weekend comes from the UK in a bout that is being advertised as a grudge bout with real needle. That contest will see former WBO Light Heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly (28-1, 14) battle against former 2-time world title challenger Tony Bellew (22-2-1, 14). These two have fought before with Cleverly winning a narrow decision over Bellew in what was one of the best British fights of 2011 sadly however both men have fallen from what they were back then and both have moved from Light Heavyweight to Cruiserweight following stoppage losses. The winner here will likely be moved towards a Cruiserweight title fight however the loser is likely to find themselves being questioned on their future. Another man hoping a win will move him onto a world title bout on this show is Olympic champion James DeGale (19-1, 13) who will be fighting former world title contender Marco Antonio Periban (20-2-1, 13). It's though that if DeGale wins he will get a world title fight in 2015 with a British super fight against Carl Froch being mooted by some whilst a win for Periban will put him back in the mix for a world shot. DeGale isn't the only Olympic champion fighting on this card as Anthony Joshua (9-0, 9) battles veteran Michael Sprott (42-22, 17) in a WBC International Heavyweight title fight. Joshua is very heavily hyped by the British fans and press though we're still awaiting to see him step up, something he's not doing here against a man who really is shot. Sprott at his best would have been a good test for Joshua but Sprott's a shell of the man he once was. One man who is taking a step up on this show is the promising Callum Smith (14-0, 11), a man we feel may be the best prospect in the UK. Smith will be up against former world title contender Nikola Sjekloca (28-2, 8) and whilst this is the biggest test so far for Smith it's also a test he should come out on top in given that Sjekloca is better known for his toughness than anything else. This will be Smith's third defense of the WBC International Super Middleweight title. Another Super Middleweight bout will see WBC silver champion George Groves (20-2, 15) battle against the horrifically over-matched Denis Douglin (17-3, 10) in a bout that is unlikely to go more than 3 or 4 rounds. In a world title bout fans will get the chance to see In a world title bout fans will see the talented Jamie McDonnell (24-2-1, 11) defending the WBA Bantamweight title against Javier Nicholas Chacon (20-2, 5). Chacon is a late replacement after Walberto Ramos was unable to take part in the fight and we suspect Chacon will be no match at all for the British fighter who is said to have lined up a unification bout with Tomoki Kameda for next year. It's a real shame that McDonnell is making the first defense of his title against such a poor foe given the fact there is some quality in the division though it does appear that Eddie Hearn is playing safe with McDonnell courtesy of the Kameda bout. This bout is one of two world title bouts on the show alongside the WBA Super Bantamweight title bout between Scott Quigg and Hidenori Otake. In Mexico we have a great female bout as WBC female Light Flyweight champion Ibeth Zamora Silva (20-5, 8) and former world champion Jessica Chavez (21-3-3, 4). This is a genuinely great female bout and one that fans should be very excited about, though we know that female boxing is ignored by many fans who miss out on great contests like this as a result. (Image courtesy of Sky Sports) |
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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