We've had a few quiet days in boxing recently but over the next few hours the sport really comes alive in explosive and exciting fashion.

The first of the major bouts is expected in the UK where British fighter Anthony Crolla (29-4-2, 11) looks to complete a remarkable comeback and claim the WBA Lightweight title as he takes on Colombian Darleys Perez (32-1, 20). Both fighters have great back stories and both will be looking to score a major win here in a bout that is certainly charged with emotion.

On the same British card we'll also see a mouth watering bout at 122lbs as WBA champion Scott Quigg (30-0-2, 20) defends his belt against former IBF champion Kiko Martinez (32-5, 24). This is the first really big test for Quigg since claiming the title in strange circumstances more than a year ago. Whilst this is a great test for Quigg it does need saying that Martinez has twice been beaten by Quigg's public rival Carl Frampton.

Having just mentioned Carl Frampton (20-0, 14) it's worth noting that he'll be defending his IBF title in Texas as he takes on Alejandro Gonzalez Jr (25-1-2, 15), who is best known for stopping the once touted Hanzel Martinez. This has been widely criticised as a mismatch though interesting we know that Shingo Wake will be in attendance with the intention of scouting the winner, for whom he'll be the mandatory challenger.

Also in Texas we'll see former Middleweight title holder Julio Cesar Chavez Jr (48-2-1-1, 32) take on Marcos Reyes (33-2, 24) in a bout that saw Chavez fail to make weight, not for the first time in his career. Chavez is coming back following his first stoppage loss and he really does need a win here or his career will effectively be over.

We also get two more bouts of note in Germany, both at 168lbs. The first of those sees touted puncher Vincent Feigenbutz (19-1, 18) battling against inactive veteran Mauricio Reynoso (15-1-1, 11) for the WBA “interim” title, in what really seems like a joke bout to hand Feigenbutz a belt. The other bout will see WBO champion Arthur Abraham (42-4, 28) defending his title against nemesis Robert Stieglitz (47-4-1, 27), in what will be a 4th meeting between the two men. The loser of this rematch, of a rematch, or a rematch, will almost certainly be looking at retirement whilst the winner may get another big payday due to their title.

Saturday's most interesting fights, on paper, were in Russia. They weren't the only bouts of note however and in Germany we saw a bout that got massive attention in the UK and Germany. The bout in question saw WBO Super Middleweight champion Arthur Abraham (41-4, 28) successfully defend his belt against a very spirited effort form British fighter Paul Smith (35-4, 20) in what turned out to be a much, much more competitive contest than many had expected. In fact we'll admit we expected Abraham to stop Smith, probably in the middle stages.

What was saw from Smith was a determined effort as he went to the lion's den and really gave his all. It was a sterling performance from the Englishman though one that wasn't as good as the English commentary team of Nick Halling and Jim Watt had tried to paint through the course of the fight. The commentary really gushed over every thing Smith did, whether it was a clean hook to the body or a jab to the elbow they swooned like a love struck teenager in a sickening and misleading manner. A manner the misled those watching the fight and made a competitive bout seem like a dominant performance.

Although Halling and Watt were swooning their eyes had belied them. Their "excellent work" comments often followed a Smith flurry that landed on the gloves and arms of Abraham. The tight defense and effective aggression of Abraham, who was his typical conservative self for the most part, was essentially the difference between the two men with Abraham winning his rounds fairly clearly whilst Smith had to work incredibly hard to win rounds. At times it looked like Smith was clearly out working Abraham though landing on the guard is of course not clean work, despite what the commentary were proclaiming in their almost cheer-leader like sense of fandom.

We don't mean to take anything away from Paul Smith, his effort does deserve another notable opportunity, though in our eyes he was the correct loser. Unfortunately though he didn't lose as widely as the scores cards of 117-111, 117-111 and 119-109 suggested. He was competitive and genuinely exceeded expectation with a fantastic performance, but not a winning one.

For all the fans who were declaring a robbery we suggest you await the upcoming article by @thefightscore who will be publishing his findings on Monday. For us this wasn't a robbery but the cards were terrible and we suspect many cards will suggest the same.

Note:
The article by @fightscore can now be found here: http://www.boxingnewsonline.net/arthur-abrahams-wide-points-win-over-paul-smith-puzzles-boxing-media/

For the second successive weekend the US lacks any notable fight though thankfully we're not with out at least 1 fight worth talking about as German promotional power house Sauerland Event put on a very interesting WBO Super Middleweight title fight, and a fight that has major implications for the rest of the division.

The defending champion Arthur Abraham (40-4, 28) was once viewed as one of the sports hardest hitters. He was, as the IBF Middleweight champion a destructive force who needed just 1-punch to render iron chinned fighters void of their senses. Sadly though for Abraham things haven't been the same since he moved to Super Middleweight where fighters have been able to take his power and came him handcuffed behind his own turtle defense.

Although we certainly wouldn't like to be hit by Abraham he doesn't look like the fighter who was a monster at Middleweight.

Whilst Abraham isn't what he once was he will still be clearly favoured over Britain's experienced Paul Smith (35-3, 20) who has failed to prove he belongs in this level. In fact in many ways Smith has nothing to lose but everything to gain from this fight that could see him in a position to earn huge money early next year, if he can win.

Smith is best known internationally for appearing in reality TV show "The Contender" though has been a staple on the British scene for several years. Unfortunately though Smith is probably better known for being 1 of 4 fighting brothers than his own talent. That's not to say he's a bad fighter, far from it, but he has come up short against the two world class fighters he has faced, George Groves and James DeGale, both of whom have stopped him.

From what we've seen of both we need to favour Abraham, even if he's not the fighter he was. If Smith wins we expect he'll be fighting in a huge money British domestic clash with someone like Carl Froch, in a 3 title unification bout, or a rematch with either Groves or DeGale. For Abraham a defense will likely see him continue to defend his title against abject foes in Germany. Soon or later however there will be an interesting WBO mandatory against someone like Gilberto Ramirez Sanchez.

(Image courtesy of Sauerland Event)

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)

This past Saturday was the first monster day of the boxing year. It may have taken some time coming but what a day it was and what a memorable day it was with fights taking place all over the globe, multiple titles changing hands, multiple champions in action and an amateur stand out attempting to create history. To say that Saturday March 1st was a bumper day in boxing is to merely state the obvious.

The action began in Australia where WBC female Super Featherweight champion Diana Prazak (13-2, 9) retained her title by stopping compatriot Shannon O'Connell (8-3, 5) in round 5. Prazak's power presented O'Connell problems from the off and the challenger was dropped twice in round 2 before being saved by the referee in round 5.

Prazak is amongst the most feared female fighters on the planet right now and this result showed why. She's got dynamite in her hands and stopping O'Connell, who lost a close decision to Hyun-Mi Choi last year, was nothing short of impressive.

Although Prazak retained her title several fighters in Europe didn't. One of those was Britain's Ricky Burns (36-3-1, 11) whose luck finally ran out as he faced unbeaten American Terence Crawford (23-0, 16). Crawford, who appeared to fight well within himself, controlled the fight from round 4 onwards with his speed and combinations. Unfortunately British commentary team Jim Watt and Nick Halling seemed to do all they could to downplay Crawford's victory though it was obvious that Burns was well beaten. This victory saw Crawford claiming the WBO Lightweight title and put himself amongst the elite at 135lbs.

Another WBO title changed hands in Germany where Arthur Abraham (39-4, 28) reclaimed the WBO Super Middleweight title with a narrow points victory over rival Robert Stieglitz (46-4, 26). This result was a genuine shock to us as we viewed Abraham as washed up though the "King" had reclaimed his crown and taken a 2-1 lead from a trilogy with Stieglitz. The bout was an interesting one though a 12th round knock down by Abraham did effectively seal the fight for him.

On the same card in Germany WBO female Middleweight champion Christina Hammer (17-0, 8) put on a clinic to out point Jessica Balogun (23-3, 11). Balogun was game through out though her technical limitations cost her any chance at a victory as Hammer won every round with her skills and movement. Although Hammer's shots never hurt Balogun they were so technically sound they they prevented the challenger from getting much going offensively herself.

In South Africa was saw another champion retain their title with Hekkie Budler (25-1, 8) defended his WBA interim Minimumweight title for the first time. Budler, a genuine non-puncher, needed just a round to see off the very limited Karluis Diaz (21-5, 14). We're now hoping to see Budler fight IBF champion Katsunari Takayama in a unification bout though their appears to be work to be done if this fight is to be made.

Across the Atlantic the action continued with even more major bouts.

The most notable bout on the American continent happened in the US as Ukrainian amateur great Vasyl Lomachenko (1-1, 1) attempted to secure his place in professional boxing history. Lomachenko, fighting for the WBO Featherweight title in just his second bout unfortunately came up short against grizzled veteran Orlando Salido (41-12-2-1, 28). Although Lomachenko lost a split decision to Salido plenty felt he took more from the loss than many prospects take from 25 wins and with Salido failing to make the weight and being stripped of the title we'd not be shocked if Lomachenko fights for the vacant title next time out. If Lomachenko had won he'd have broken the almost 40 year record of Saensak Muangsurin who won a world title in just his third pro bout.

As well as the Lomachenko bout there was also a major rematch on the same card as Julio Cesar Chavez Jr (48-1-1-1, 32) managed to take a clear, but hard fought, victory over the game Brian Vera (23-8, 14). The two men had fought last year with many feeling Vera was robbed this time however Chavez took a genuine victory even if he did do some things that were very annoying, especially in round 12 where he ran and danced. After the fight their murmurs of a bout between Chavez Jr and Gennady Golovkin, though presumably Golovkin would have to make the move to Super Middleweight for the bout to make sense.

Staying with rematches Mexico saw a major rematch as female star Zulina Munoz (41-1-2, 26) managed to defend her WBC Super Flyweight title and avenge her sole defeat as she claimed a technical decision over Alesia Graf (26-4, 11). Graf, who beat Munoz back in 2007, traded shots with Munoz willingly in one of the nights best fights but unfortunately a clash of heads in round 6 forced the bout to the scorecards which all favoured Munoz. This wasn't a pretty fight in terms of boxing but it was highly entertaining stuff with both freely swinging at the other. Great action for as long as it lasted.

Going further down the America's there was also a world title fight in Argentina where the ultra-talented Erica Anabella Farias (19-0, 9) successfully retained her WBC female Lightweight title with a victory over compatriot Maria Eugenia Lopez (8-8-2). The bout was a mismatch with Farias just being too good at everything for Lopez though the key thing about the bout was that it was a tune up for Farias who will be fighting in a much more meaningful contest next time out against Delfine Persoon, her mandatory challenger.

(Picture courtesy of http://www.thesweetscience.com/)

One of the big complaints we've made this year is that there was a real lack of big time action. We're two months in to the year and we could count the number of significant fights on one hand, we could then use the other hand to count how many genuinely good fighter we've had. Honestly it's been an awful start to the boxing year.

Thankfully March seems to kick off the boxing for 2014. It may be late but it is much, much better than never. Unfortunately however the sheer number of high quality fights make it almost a given that you will be missing something this weekend.

The first notable fight, and the one featured in the small image, is one of several female contests of interest and takes place in Australia as the hard hitting Diana Prazak (12-2, 8) attempts to make the first defense of her WBC female Super Featherweight title. Prazak will be fighting fellow compatriot Shannon O'Connell (8-2, 5) in a bout that has all the ingredients to be a fire cracked. 

O'Connell is best known to use for her close fight with Korea's Hyun-Mi Choi last year whilst Prazak announced herself last year by stopping Frida Wallberg and unfortunately ending Wallberg's career in the process. Although it's a female fight it could be the best of the day.

The O'Connell/Prazak bout isn't the only major female bout of the day and in Germany we get another as the highly popular Chrstina Hammer (16-0, 8) defends her WBO female Middleweight title against fellow German Jessica Balogun (23-2, 11). Whilst the Prazak/O'Connell bout looks like a fantastic match up, this one is unfortunately a huge mismatch and it's hard to see anything other than an easy defense for the talented Hammer.

On the same card in Germany their is a WBO Super Middleweight title fight as Robert Steiglitz (46-3, 26) battles Arthur Abraham (38-4, 28) for the third time in less than 18 months. Although the men are 1-1 it seems that Abraham's career is in free fall and we'd be shocked if Steiglitz doesn't retain his title again here.

The Stieglitz/Abraham trilogy isn't the only world title fight in Europe as Scotland's Ricky Burns (36-2-1, 11) tries to put poor back-to-back performance behind him and defend his WBO Lightweight title against America's unbeaten Terence Crawford (22-0, 16) in what looks like one of the nights most interesting match ups. We'd favour Crawford here though it's certainly his toughest bout to date and Burns, for the faults he has shown in recent bouts, has shown that he's not got any quit in him. Unfortunately we have the feeling this could end up being either a total dud or controversial with fans on both sides of the Atlantic being unsatisfied by either the action or the result.

Staying in Britain there is another major contest involving a Brit as James DeGale (17-1, 11) battles the unbeaten Gevorg Khatchikian (20-0, 8) in what looks to be a semi-final eliminator to fight Sakio Bika for the WBC Super Middleweight title. The winner of DeGale/Khatchikian is likely to need to beat another top contender to get a world title fight but this is a big step towards one.

Across the Atlantic the action comes just as thick and fast.

The highlight bout state side sees Vasyl Lomachenko (1-0, 1) fighting grizzled Mexican veteran Orlando Salido (40-12-2-1, 28) for the WBO Featherweight title. A victory for Lomachenko gets him into the record books for fewest professional bouts before winning a world title (in regards to men, the actual record is held by the aforementioned Choi who won a WBA title on her debut) though this is far from a foregone conclusion and it should prove to be one of the most enthralling and anticipated bouts of the year.

On the same card as Lomachenko/Salido we get a major non-title fight as former WBC Middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr (47-1-1-1, 32) takes on the under-rated Brian Vera (23-7, 14) for the second time. The two men fought last year with Chavez being given a highly debatable victory over Vera. Although Chavez had his excuses for his performances it does sound like he means business this time and is expected to "show up" this time around.

Going south, down the American continent, we get another major female bout in Mexico. Strangely this is another major rematch as Zulina Munoz (40-1-2, 26) attempts to avenge her sole defeat. Munoz, the current WBC female Super Flyweight champion, is unbeaten in over 6 years, since she dropped a decision to Alesia Graf (26-3, 11) this time Munoz is more experienced, wiser and more mature as well as the home fighter. The Mexican champion has ti be favoured here.

Finally, in Argentina, we get one more female world title fight. Like the Hammer/Balogun fight this one is also a mismatch as WBC Lightweight champion Erica Anabella Farias (18-0, 9), one of the premier pound-for-pound female fighters on the planet, defends her title against Maria Eugenia Lopez (8-7-2). To call this a mismatch is little more than stating the obvious, unfortunately however we do sometimes need to state the obvious. A win for Farias however sets up a fight with Belgium's excellent Delfine Persoon in what should be considered a female super-fight.