On paper this coming Saturday is one of the biggest days in boxing this year. There are numerous world level fighters in action and several fighters who attract a lot of attention. In all honesty however we feel that the weekend is one full of style over substance and, as a result, we feel we've a point to make at a weekend where the action really could be lacking despite a host of big name fighters.

The most notable action of the night comes from Las Vegas and whilst it is notable it is also, on the whole, rather disappointing and doesn't have a “big fight feel”.

The main event will see the self-proclaimed “The Best Ever” Floyd Mayweather Jr (48-0, 26) put his unbeaten record on the line against Andre Berto (30-3, 23). The bout, for the WBC and WBA “super” titles at Welterweight is a bout that failed to get fan support, is expected to be a commercial flop and is shrouded in controversy with Mayweather having recently come under-fire for the use of an IV prior to his fight with Manny Pacquiao. Whilst we have often been in awe of Mayweather's in ring ability we must confess the act has gone stale and we're looking forward to his retirement which he has promise will come after this bout. Given that he's lied regularly in the past however we're expect he'll return in 2016, if he wins as expected here, to go to 50-0.

In one of the chief support bouts Englishman George Groves (21-2, 16) will face WBC Super Middleweight champion Badou Jack (19-1-1, 12). Without trying to sound harsh Jack may well be the worst world champion in the sport and the way he won the title said more about Anthony Dirrell than it did about Jack. Groves, who has lost 2 of his last 4 to Carl Froch, once looked like the heir to the Super Middleweight throne but recent performances have been less than inspiring. Although they should match up well it's certainly not a top quality bout as some are trying to paint it.

A third world title bout on this card, and probably the bout that will excite fans, is at Super Featherweight where Puerto Rican Roman Martinez (29-2-2, 17), a 3-time world champion, battles Mexican tough guy Orlando Salido (42-13-2-1, 29), himself a 4-time champion. These two met in a barn burner back in April, in Martinez's homeland, and although Salido was beaten he gave one of the year's most stirring efforts, getting up from several knockdowns to run Martinez close down the stretch. This bout has been widely over-looked though is probably going to have more action than the other 4 major bouts on the show, combined.

In a non-title bout former world champion Ishe Smith (27-7, 12) battles against Vanes Martirosyan (35-2-1, 21). Both guys have got solid “name” value but it's hard to see this being anything but a dull contest as the talented, but tedious, Smith makes life difficult for the equally frustrating Martirosyan. Although both are skilled both have struggled to even be involved in “exciting” bouts and it's hard to see either changing that here.

Yet another former champion is on this card, which has been stacked in terms of names even if the match ups have seriously lacked competitiveness, is Jhonny Gonzalez (58-9, 49) who will be facing Jonathan Oquendo (25-4, 16). For Gonzalez this is the next step towards a potential show down with a Super Featherweight champion, likely to be the winner of the recently announced bout between Takashi Miura and Francisco Vargas, but it's hard to see what Oquendo brings to the table, especially at 130lbs.

Given the PPV price tag of the show it does seem like the card has been a case of “names above match ups” and we'll rarely support that, especially on PPV.

There is another card in the US, which is scheduled to take place before the Mayweather show. Unfortunately this is just as uninspiring as the other show.

In the most meaningful bout of the card fans will see veteran Cornelius Bundrage (34-5, 19) defending his IBF Light Middleweight title against Jermall Charlo (21-0, 16). The 42 year old Bundrage has had a fairytale career to become a 2-time world champion, claiming the first of those titles aged 37, but is a clear under-dog against the much touted, and much younger, Charlo who should claim his first world title fight.

An intriguing 10 round bout will see former world champion Gabriel Campillo (25-7-1, 12) take on Marcus Browne (15-0, 11). For Campillo a loss here would likely spell the end of his career, which saw him holding the WBA title and earn a number of solid paydays, however Browne has failed to convince fans, despite having an Olympic pedigree and an unbeaten record. This could be one of the nights many possible gems, despite a lack of major build up.

Another former champion on action here is former WBO Middleweight champion Peter Quillin (31-0-1, 22), who continues to destroy what good standing his career once had. The former champion will be facing little known Australian Michael Zerafa (17-1, 9) as he continues to tease a potential showdown with Daniel Jacobs. Quillin once looked like the man who could have given Gennady Golovkin problems but has since become boxing's version of a joke fighting Light Middleweights in title defenses, turning down a career payday and vacating the title then failing to make weight. This bout, win or lose, will do his reputation no good at all.

Before the action Stateside British fans will get the chance to watch two of their Heavyweight hopefuls in action as well as a third meeting between two men who have given local fans two incredible wars already.

The most notable of the men in action is 2012 Olympic champion Anthony Joshua (13-0, 13) who faces Scottish giant Gary Cornish (21-0, 12). On paper this looks a great bout but footage of Cornish has shown him to be rather uncoordinated and it's hard to see him providing any sort of a test to Joshua. This bout will be for the WBC International and Commonwealth Heavyweight titles and if Joshua he will likely face amateur nemesis Dillian Whyte in December.

The aforementioned Dillian Whyte (15-0, 12) is also in action here as he takes on veteran Brian Minto (41-9, 26) in a bout for the WBC International Silver Heavyweight title. In the amateurs Whyte scored a win over Joshua and will be hoping to do the same when the two men meet. This is a tougher assignment than Joshua's but should still be a simple win for the Englishman.

Arguably the highlight of the show however will be the third meeting between Dave Ryan (17-8, 4) and John Wayne Hibbert (15-3, 9). The two men are fighting for the unified WBC International and Commonwealth titles, just as they did back in May, and will be hoping to put on another thriller. The two men first met back in 2013 in a thrilling back-and-forth war but it was their bout this year that really captured the attention of fans and stole the day with 4 knockdowns and gritty come from behind win for Ryan. This really has the potential to be the sleeper fight of the weekend.

This Friday promises a lot in terms of boxing on the international scene. It sees Al Haymon's PBC series continue with it's first show on Spike, as well as other bouts through the US and a female title fight in Mexico.

The PBC show is the second successive double header from Al Haymon and again it features big names in match ups made for the casual fans but bouts that have the potential to fall very flat if the fighters refuse to put on a show. On paper the more exciting of the two bout will see former Welterweight title holder Andre Berto (29-3, 22) battle against the exciting and gutsy Josesito Lopez (22-6, 19). Around 3 years ago this would have been a must watch match up between two flawed but exciting fighters. Now however we have our doubts about the contest with Berto having looked "on the slide" in recent bouts and lacking a notable win in more than 3 years, in fact he is 2-3 in his last 5 bouts and has been dropped in all 3 loses whilst none of his recent wins were that impressive in terms of his performance. Lopez, who is a real gutsy fighter, has lost 3 of his last 7 including really nasty beatings against Saul Alvarez and Marco Maidana whilst subsequent wins have been less than stellar performances. This could be exciting or it could be the shell of two men collecting one final pay day.

The other part of the double header will see another former Welterweight champion look to get back to winning ways as Antoine Douglas (24-1-1, 15) battles for the first time since losing his IBF belt to Kell Brook. Porter takes on the heavy handed and tough, but ultra-slow Roberto Garcia (36-3, 23). On paper this looks exciting but the reality is that Porter should be too quick for Garcia. This could be messy, it could have exciting moments but it's clear that the bout has been set up for Porter to get back to winning and even to build up fights with himself against either Berto or the unbeaten Keith Thurman.

Also on the PBC card fans will get the chance to see a pair of Heavyweight bouts. One will see former world title challenger Chris Arreola (35-4-0-1, 31) take on the over-matched Curtis Harper (12-3, 8) whilst the other features the unbeaten Gerald Washington (15-0, 11) taking on journeyman Jason Gavern (26-18-4, 11). Sadly both of these appear to be massive mismatches.

On another US televised card fans will get a clash of unbeaten fighters as Antoine Douglas (16-0-1, 10) faces off against Thomas Lamanna (16-0, 7). This unbeaten showdown, for a WBA regional title, will see the winner being moved quickly however it shouldn't be the end of the line for the loser. On paper Douglas has faced much better competition, including Michel Soro, however Lamanna may feel this is his chance to shine. With both having unbeaten records and the bout being televised we're hoping for something a little bit special from two prospects who each need a notable win at this point in their career.

On a third US card we see a Russian in a really big step up, but the Russian in question is viewed as a "super fighter" That aforementioned Russian is Sergey Lipinets (5-0, 4) who will be hoping to claim the WBC Latino title at 140lbs as he battles former world title challenger Cosme Rivera (37-19-3-1, 25). Lipinets is said to be a very special fighter who has transitioned from kick-boxing to boxing and is thought to be on the fast track to the top. Although Lipinets lacks a big win this would move towards big fights and we suspect this bout will be able to prove whether he is as good as the hype suggests. As for Rivera he is looking a bit "shot" but still has the tools to ask questions of prospects en route to picking up losses.

In Mexico we have a female world title fight as IBF female Super Bantamweight champion Yulihan Alejandra Luna Avila (12-2, 1) defends her belt for the first time. Avila will be up against the unbeaten Sabrina Maribel Perez (12-0-1, 2). Perez has previously held a WBA interim and a WBC Silver title but never a full world title, which she'll be hoping to claim here.

(Image courtesy of Premier Boxing Champions)

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)