This coming Saturday may not have a lot of Asian action but there is plenty of action Stateside with two genuinely notable cards in the US. On paper the most notable takes place in Alabama where fans will get a pair of world title bouts as well as an excellent support bout. The main event will see WBC Heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (33-0, 32) defending his title against the heavy handed but limited Eric Molina (23-2, 17) in what will be Wilder's first defense of the title. The bout has been slated due to the apparent gulf in ability of the two men and we do need to wonder how Molina has got a world ranking, despite that it is good to see Wilder as active as he is and we suspect he'll fight a more serious contender later in the year. The other title fight will see unbeaten Super Featherweight hopeful Jose Pedraza (19-0, 12) battle against once beaten Andrey Klimov (19-1, 9) for the IBF title. Pedraza has looked really good recently, including his dominant display against Michael Farrenas and should be too good for Pedraza however the Russian hasn't come to lie down. Interestingly Klimov is best known for losing on American soil to Terrence Crawford, that proved he was tough but fundamentally he shouldn't be good enough here. Arguably the fight of the card comes at Lightweight as Dejan Zlaticanin (20-0, 13) takes on Ivan Redkach (18-0-0-1, 14) in a really good looking and well matched bout. It's a hard one to pick and promises to be very competitive, not much more we can ask here. From what we understand the winner will be heading towards a world title fight in the coming 12 months or so. The other American card is in New York where we get another world title fight as well as another bout between unbeaten hopefuls. The world title bout is a bout between unbeaten punchers as Jamaica's Nicholas Walters (25-0, 21) defends his WBA Featherweight “super” title against Colombian Miguel Marriaga (20-0, 18). To say this looks explosive is little more than stating the obvious though we do need to favour the more proven Walters. The chief support here will see the mega-touted Felix Verdejo (17-0, 13) face his stiffest test to date as he goes up against Ivan Najera (16-0, 8). We're expecting this bout to tell us a lot about Verdejo who is really highly regarded though lacks a stand out win so far. Saying that however Najera has also got this far without a real win of note.
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This Saturday isn't the most exciting day in recent boxing but there is a number of very notable bouts taking place with one bout in particular being worthy of the attention of boxing fans. That stand out bout sees Heavyweight kingpin Wladimir Klitschko (63-3, 53) return to the US for the first time in 7 years as he defends his IBF/WBO/WBA “super” and IBO titles against unbeaten American Bryant Jennings (19-0, 10). The bout sees Klitschko returning to Madison Square Garden, the venue that he stunk out with a wide but incredibly dull win over Sultan Ibragimov back in 2008. We're expecting a better fight here but Jennings is taking a huge leap up in class and is widely expected to be a lamb to the slaughter. The interesting part isn't the actual fight but instead Klitschko's return to the US as he moves a step closer to complete unification and a bout with WBC champion Deontay Wilder. On the same card is a good looking Welterweight bout. This will see rising star Sadam Ali (21-0, 13) take on potential banana skin Francisco Santana (22-3-1, 11). Ali looked impressive last time out when he stopped Luis Abregu however this bout promises to be a very different test for “The World Kid”. In a mouth watering Flyweight encounter fans will see former IBF champion Moruti Mthalane (31-2, 20) battle against fringe contender Jose Argumedo (14-3-1, 8). Mthalane will be defending his IBO title here and should see off Argumedo though we're hoping to see him in a more meaningful bout next time out. A bout between Mathalane and any of the top Asian fighters, such as Johnriel Casimero, Kazuto Ioka or Amnat Ruenroeng, would certainly be interesting and we'd love to see him in with any of those guys. There is also a female bout of note which will see WBC female Lightweight champion Delfine Persoon (32-1, 15) defending her belt against Nicole Boss (13-4-2, 7). Persoon is among the very best female fighters and should be able to retain her title relatively easily her, however Boss has won her last 6 bouts and enters the bout as the European champion. One other bout that caught our attention comes from Puerto Rico where the fast rising Felix Verdejo (16-0, 12) takes on Marco Antonio Lopez (24-5, 15). Verdejo has looked like a star in the making so far though does still need a few more fights before considers fighting for a world title bout. This the unbeaten man's first scheduled 10 rounder though we don't see Lopez surviving 10 rounds with the talented Puerto Rican. (Image courtesy of http://www.klitschko.com) |
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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