This Saturday is a hectic day in Asia but it's highlight is possibly in the US.

The most notable bout of the day, and easily the most exciting on paper, is a a Welterweight bout in the USA which will see former Lightweight world title holder Brandon Rios (31-2-1, 23) battle against former WBA interim Welterweight champion Diego Gabriel Chaves (23-1, 19). The bout pits two big puncher against each other though both have very different styles with Rios being a marauding pressure fighter whilst Chaves is a more skilled boxer. Despite the differences in style both are exciting and together they should make for a complete slug-fest with power shots being the order of the day from both men. Sadly there is one downside with this fight, it's that Chaves has had an interrupted preparation with visa issues almost forcing him out of the bout. We'd suggest that if you see just one fight this weekend make it this one.

In a Light Heavyweight bout Isaac Chilemba (22-2-2, 9) will be looking to help move himself to a title fight as he takes on the heavy handed but relatively unknown Cory Cummings (17-6-1, 13). Chilemba is a tricky fighter with the potential to be world class and he should be able to dominate Cummings with skill but the power of Cummings could keep this interesting, at least for  few rounds.

(Image courtesy of Top Rank)

This coming Friday isn't a major one in international boxing but it will feature 3 fights that interest us.

The first of those 3 fights will be a Heavyweight bout in Britain between the hard hitting and highly exciting Lucas Browne (20-0, 18) and fellow unbeaten Andriy Rudenko (24-0, 16). Rudenko was, earlier this year, set to fight Dereck Chisora though pulled out of that bout at late notice. This time we expect him to go through with the bout but take a beating from the big hitting Browne. Dubbed "Big Daddy", Browne is one of our favourite Heavyweights despite numerous technical limitations and we'd suspect he could be in line to fight someone like Tyson Fury, the aforementioned Chisora or even Anthony Joshua in the next 12 months or so.

On the same card in the UK we will get another meeting of unbeaten fighters as Italy's Leonard Bundu (30-0-2, 11) attempts to defend his European Welterweight title against Britain's Frankie Gavin (19-0, 12). This is a huge fight for both and the winner will likely shoot to within a fight or two of an alphabet belt. The key thing here is that both men will be fighting their biggest test so far and the loser may well feel the effects of having had some relatively easy fights so far in to their career.

In the US we get another bout featuring an unbeaten fighter taking a step up as Thomas Williams Jr (17-0, 12) battles against former world champion Gabriel Campillo (23-6-1, 10). The winner could emerge as a potential Sergey Kovalev opponent and that makes this bout very interesting to us, though we do need to favour Williams as Campillo has began to show real signs of losing his punch resistance despite still being very highly skilled. We don't feel that Williams should be in a title fight yet, due to him lacking the development, but his record is starting to become pretty notable and if he beats Campillo he will have gotten more solid wins than many of the contenders.

Another bout on the US card will see the return to the ring of the promising, though very frustrating, Andre Dirrell (21-1, 14) who looks to prove his ability against the tough but limited Vladine Biosse (15-4-2, 7). Biosse did, recently, take Callum Smith 10 rounds though we'd not expect him to survive the schedule here if Dirrell is half the fighter he was before his career seemed to be derailed. Dirrell has talent to be one of the truly world class Super Middleweights but questions do surround his mentality to the fight game and if he can't answer those we may well see one of the great wastes of talent.

(Image courtesy of boxnation.com)

We'll admit we sometimes get over-excited about things. Boxing is one of those sports that really can get exciting just because of the anticipation of an event. Unfortunately this past weekend saw our hopes and dreams fall down to earth with an almighty crash and our realisation that this is boxing and things never go as we hope they do.

On Saturday morning British Heavyweight giant Tyson Fury (22-0, 16) was forced to pull out of his clash with fellow giant Alexander Ustinov (29-1, 21) following a family member falling "gravely" ill. This should have for told the weekend really because it was disappointment, after disappointment for the most part.

The Fury/Ustinov fight had been one of two Heavyweight clashes that we were excited about. The other was a WBC eliminator between Bryant Jennings (19-0, 10) and Mike Perez (20-1-1, 12). Unfortunately this potentially exciting bout turned into a bit of a damp squib after an out of shape Perez blew himself out after about 6 rounds and spent half the fight holding, spoiling and generally doing all he could to prevent an exciting contest. Perez was eventually punished for breaking the rules with a deduction in round 12 that sealed the fight in favour of Jennings by split decision. One thing that was clear from this result is that neither man should be thinking about getting in the ring with Wladimir Klitschko or Bermane Stiverne, at least not for the time being.

On the same card as the Jennings/Perez bout we did get some excitement as Anthony Caputo Smith (15-4, 10) took the fight to Ola Afolabi (21-3-4, 10) in an exciting but one sided bout. Smith came out with the intention of forcing Afolabi to work and that's what he did eventually busting up the face of Smith to the point of the Dr stopping the bout.

In fairness there was also a good bout in the UK as Billy Joe Saunders (20-0, 11) claimed the European Middleweight title with a stoppage against Emanuele Blandamura (22-1, 5). It was a competitive fight and a good win for Saunders and following the bout it seemed to be strongly hinted that British fans would be getting a bout between Saunders and Chris Eubank Jr. The bout is likely to sell to the British public though we've not been that impressed by Eubank who scored an easy win on the under-card against a totally mismatched opponent.

Whilst the disappointment of the Heavyweight bouts would usually have stuck out as the lowest part of the weekend we need to admit that we actually had something even worse in Germany. Manfred Kuechler.

The German referee appeared to make 2 very poor and highly controversial calls to help protect home fighters on a card that perhaps threw German boxing back in to the dark ages.

The first poor call came in a female bout between Christina Hammer (18-0, 8) and Sophie Anne Mathis (27-4, 23). Mathis appeared to knock out Hammer with a series of shots whilst Hammer was holding her arm though the referee decided the shots had been illegal and awarded Hammer the victory by DQ in a result that sent the French boxing press into a frenzy. Unfortunately for Mathis her misfortune was hidden behind another poor decision from Kuechler who awarded a TKO victory to Robert Steiglitz (47-4, 27) in his bout against Sergey Khomitsky (29-11-2, 12). Khomitsky had problems with his tape and the referee, knowing Steiglitz was struggling, seemed to take the opportunity to stop Khomitsky rather than risk Steiglitz suffering a major loss.

(Image courtesy of SES)

This coming Saturday is a day that has some really interesting action with some very notable bouts in both the UK and the US.

One of the most notable bout which was scheduled for the weekend was to be a Heavyweight rematch between the unbeaten Tyson Fury (22-0, 16) and and Dereck Chisora (20-4, 13). Sadly Chisora has suffered an injury however Fury will fight on the card and will battle man mountain Alexander Ustinov (29-1, 21) in what looks like a genuine clash between giants.

In another interesting bout on the UK card fans will get the chance to see unbeaten Middleweights colliding as Billy Joe Saunders (19-0, 10) fights Emanuele Blandamura (22-0, 5) in a European title fight. The contest is an interesting bout on paper though we tend to feel that Blandamura is up against it here considering that he's travelled from Italy, though he did win in Germany last time out.

Whilst Britain's card is long, and interesting, the card of the day is in New York. The main event on this card is the WBA Middleweight "super" title fight between Gennady Golovkin and Daniel Geale. The Middleweight title fight is great though the support bouts are equally as interesting.

One of the support bouts is a Heavyweight clash between unbeaten fighters as Bryant Jennings (18-0, 10) battles against Mike Perez (20-0-1, 12) in what appears to be a very good fight. Not only is this good on paper but it's also meaningful and the winner will be set for a WBC Heavyweight title fight giving a extra motivation to both men.

Another of the bouts will be at Cruiserweight as former world title challenger Ola Afolabi (20-3-4, 9) takes on American Anthony Caputo Smith (15-3, 10). This bout, a 10 rounder, won't have a title or even a big opportunity on the line but will a must win for both men who will be aware that a loss could be the end of their title dreams.

A third interesting card takes place in Germany where we have a very interesting male bout and a potentially thrilling female world title bout.

The male bout will see former WBO Super Middleweight world champion Robert Steiglitz (46-4, 26) taking on the under-rated Sergey Khomitsky (29-10-2,12) in a bout for the WBO Inter-Continental Super Middleweight title. Steiglitz is hoping to secure another world title fight somewhere down the line whilst Khomitsky is looking to build on his big upset win over Frank Buglioni last time out. We have to favour Stieglitz on paper but Khomitsky is certainly a live under-dog.

In a female bout the sensational Christina Hammer (17-0, 8) will be attempting to claim a 3rd divisional title as she takes on hard hitting French woman Anne Sophie Mathis (27-3, 23) in a battle for the vacant WBO female Light Middleweight title. Many seem to feel that a win here for Hammer could help us move towards a European female super fight between Hammer and Cecelia Braekhus, a bout that is effectively a dream fight and the female version of Manny Pacquiao Vs Floyd Mayweather.

(Image courtesy of boxnation)

This past Saturday was an amazing day for boxing fans with a fantastic show in the US. The show, one of the best of the year, at least on paper, was thoroughly interesting but sadly not always the most entertaining.

The show, at least the televised portion of it, kicked off with an enthralling WBO Bantamweight title fight that saw Tomoki Kameda successfully defending his title and leaving an excellent impression on US fans. The fight, which ended when Tomoki landed a brutal body shot to Pungluang Sor Singyu, should have been impressive enough to impress US audiences in to wanting to see more of Tomoki.

Following the all-Asian show starter we then had the fight of the night as Mauricio Herrera (21-4, 7) took a majority decision over Johan Perez (19-2-1, 13) and claimed the WBA interim Light Welterweight title. The fight, which was action packed through out, swung several times as the two men unloaded shots on each other in a high paced and highly skilled contest that was genuinely enjoyable. 

The action from the Herrera/Perez was great to watch but neither guy had the power to really hurt the other and as a result it never looked like we were going to get a stoppage, though Perez was rocked very late in the fight. In the contest that followed however there was no chance the contest was going to go the distance as all action Francisco Vargas (20-0-1, 14) stopped the hard hitting but very shop worn Juan Manuel Lopez (34-4, 31). Lopez was rocked hard in the second round before being dismantled in round 3 by a very sharp Vargas who seemed to announce himself on the world stage. Sadly for Lopez this was another painful loss and it seems time that he called quits on his career before he ends up with serious long term health issues.

Sadly the excitement all vanished in the very next fight as Abner Mares (27-1-1, 14) put on a controlled but dull performance to over-come Jonathan Oquendo (24-4, 16). This was Mares first bout since being blasted out in a round by Jhonny Gonzalez and although that set back was a bad one the tactics Mares used in this fight really were disappointing for the most part.

In the main event of the show fans saw the hugely popular though very divisive Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (44-1-1, 31) take a highly disputed split decision over Cuba's Erislandy Lara (19-2-2, 12). The bout saw Lara boxing and moving for vast parts of the fight whilst Alvarez stalked with mixed results. The men both felt their tactics had seen them controlling the bout though in all honesty no one truly "controlled" it with plenty of rounds that could be debated. Sadly one judge managed to see the fight 117-111 to Alvarez, a result that simply didn't make sense, despite the numerous close rounds. Each man seemed to clearly win 4 rounds with their tactics whilst the remaining 4 were up for debate. The only thing that the fight really told us is that whilst both men were evenly matched Canelo struggles with movers and Lara struggles with body shots.

Sadly the 117-111 card in the Alvarez/Lara fight as well as the draw card in the Herrera/Perez fight and a card of 58-56 to Pungluang, prior to the stoppage, all leave major question marks about judges and we wonder if they were watching the same fights as our selves

Prior to the American card fans also had the chance to watch some fights from the UK. These including a bout with Super Featherweight contender Stephen Smith (20-1, 12) who looked terrible against journeyman Pedro Navarrete (28-19-3, 17). Navarrete is better than his record indicated but Smith really was awful and if he's thinking about fighting Takashi Miura he probably needs to think again or he'll end up badly beaten.

On the same British card we had a trio of Olympic medal winners including Super Heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (7-0, 7), who stopped veteran Matt Skelton (28-9, 23) in a bout that saw Skelton looking his 47 years of age, and Luke Campbell (6-0, 4) who sadly looked lacking in his decision victory over the brave Craig Woodruff (5-4, 2).

The main action on the British show was in the Cruiserweight as we had two bouts of note. The first saw former WBO Light Heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly (28-1, 14) make light work of the limited but fun Alejandro Emilio Valori (15-5, 11) whilst the second saw the big mouthed Tony Bellew (22-2-1, 14) stopping Brazil's Julio Cesar Dos Santos (26-3, 23). Both the visitors came with the intention of scoring a KO but neither had the ability against the more well known British fighters who are now set to face each other, in fact they almost had an impromptu fight last night, suggesting that neither man had had to work hard enough to score their wins.

(Image courtesy of Golden Boy Promotions)

One thing boxing is lacking right now is a number of real stars in the sport. Sure we have some international names such as Floyd Mayweather Jr and Manny Pacquiao but it's hard to argue that there is a lack of them.

On man who is hoping to become the next megastar of the sport is Mexico's Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (43-1-1, 31) who looks to re-establish his claim as one of the most exciting men in boxing this weekend when he takes on WBA Light Middleweight champion Erislandy Lara (19-1-2, 12) in a non-title fight.

Alvarez is a Mexican icon but one who seems to really split the general fan base of the sport with many feeling he has been given opportunities based on his marketability as opposed to his actual talent. This bout however could prove he is as talented as he is marketable and could convince many that he is as good as people say. A win for Lara however will see the "American Dream" likely becoming the man fans will be demanding to see fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. For a non-title fight this is a major contest for both men involved in the bout.

On the same card as the Alvarez/Lara bout we find several other interesting contests. One of those is the WBO Bantamweight title bout between Tomoki Kameda and Pungluang Sor Singyu whilst another is a WBA interim Light Welterweight bout between Johan Perez (19-1-1, 13) and Mauricio Herrera (20-4, 7). Perez, a skilful Venezuelan, was the first man to defeat Japanese slugger Yoshihiro Kamegai whilst Herrera, a skilled American, recently schooled Danny Garcia in one of the most controversial bouts of the year and holds a win over Ruslan Provodnikov. Although the bout is likely to be a very technical affair both guys can be fun to watch and do throw plenty meaning this could be an entertaining high speed chess match between two practitioners of boxing and moving.

Whilst the Perez/Herrera bout will be technical the same cannot be said for the bout between former 2-weight world champion Juan Manuel Lopez (34-3, 31) and Francisco Vargas (19-0-1, 13). Puerto Rico's "Juanma" is a crude, hard hitting and exciting fighter but is also a man on a serious downslide in regards to his ability to take a shot. Vargas, an unbeaten Mexican, is stepping up in class for this fight but has looked excellent in recent contests and will be viewed by many, including ourselves, as a very live under-dog.

One more bout on this card features former 3-weight world champion Abner Mares (26-1-1, 14). Mares, who was linked to Takashi Miura earlier this year, will be facing Puerto Rico's Jonathan Oquendo (24-3, 16) in what should be a comfortable return to action after a notable lay off following his first career defeat, an opening round stoppage to Mexican puncher Jhonny Gonzalez.

Whilst the card of the day is in the US there is also a show in the UK that is being viewed as a "set up" card as opposed to one with any sort of competitive match up. The idea seems to be to match former WBO Light Heavyweight champion Nathan Cleverly (27-1, 13) and Tony Bellew (21-2-1, 13) up against each other, as long as they both get past their tests here. For Cleverly his test comes in the form of Argentina's Alejandro Emilio Valori (15-4, 11) and from what we understand Valori isn't a tough guy and even the light hitting Cleverly should be able to see off his challenge inside the distance. For Bellew the challenger is 36 year old Brazilian Julio Cesar Dos Santos (26-2, 23) who, unsurprisingly, has been beaten by his only "name" opponent.

(Image courtesy of http://www.goodrichqualitytheaters.com and Golden Boy Promotions)

Late last night in the US fans got to see unbeaten Cuban Rances Barthelemy (20-0-0-1, 12) defeat Dominican fighter Argenis Mendez (21-3-1-1, 11) and claim the IBF Super Featherweight title, at the second time of asking.

The two men met earlier this year with Barthelemy stopping an out of sorts Mendez. Sadly that bout was ruled a No Contest after Barthelemy landed the finishing punch marginally after the bell. This time around however there was no controversy and no excuses as Barthelemy took a very clear decision over Mendez who showed more than he did last time around but was too slow to match the Cuban. 

In the end Barthelmy was a clear winner despite the cards all reading 115-111. The only thing that made the bout close was Barthelmy being deducted points late in the bout for low blows, by then however Mendez was needing a KO which never looked like against a man he struggled to catch.

This contest should now lead to Barthelemy facing off against Filipino slugger Michael Farenas in a mandatory defence later this year or early next year. Although it's a difficult one for the Filipino hammer fist it's a bout we're looking forward to.

(Image courtesy of Iron Mike Boxing)

Controversy and boxing go hand in hand and we see it every weekend where a decision or a stoppage leaves us bewildered and wondering why we all follow the sport we love. One of the biggest controversies this year came in an IBF Super Featherweight title fight between the defending champion Argenis Mendez (21-2-1-1, 11) and Cuban challenger Rances Barthelemy (19-0-0-1, 12). The fight ended with Mendez totally wiped out though the punched was ruled to have come out of the bell and what was originally a 2nd round TKO win for Barthelemy became a no-contest.

This coming Thursday we get to see the men back in action as they face off for a second time and both have a point to prove. Mendez will hoping to defend his title and prove that it was a bad night at the office in their first bout, where he really was being dominated prior to the stoppage. As for Barthelemy this will be a chance to prove he's the better man in the ring. 

It's a great fight for a Thursday night and one we genuinely are excited about. Sadly for both men however they will be seen as the weakest of the world champions behind Takashi Uchiyama, the WBA champion, Takashi Miura, the WBC champion, and Mikey Garcia, the WBO champion. For Asian boxing fans this bout has another importance to it, the winner will be defending the belt against Filipino slugger Michael Farenas who recently earned his opportunity to fight for the title by stopping the previously unbeaten Mark Davis.

(Image courtesy of Iron Mike Productions)