The final Saturday of March gives us a number of really good bouts, both in Asia with an ALA show and around the globe with interesting bouts in Mexico, the US and the UK.

In the UK, where we get the first of the big international bouts, fans will get the chance to see the unbeaten Kell Brook (32-0, 22) defend his IBF Welterweight title for the first time and make his first return to the ring following his stabbing last year. The talented Brit, dubbed “The Special One”, will taking on mandatory challenger Jo Jo Dan (34-2, 18). The match up is a mandatory but still a good test for Brook, especially given the stabbing incident. If Brook is the same fighter he was when he won the title then he wins this easily, if he's not the same movement then he may well be dragged into a very tough contest.

Another bout on this card worth noting is a Middleweight bout between the promising Adam Etches (18-0, 15) and the always testing Sergey Khomitsky (29-11-3, 12). Etches is a fantastic prospect but this is his first real gut check and it's a fantastic time to find out if he's as good as hopes.

An interesting Flyweight bout will see the touted Khalid “Kal” Yafai (13-0, 9) put his unbeaten record on the line against Cristofer Rosales (10-1, 7). Yafai is dropping to Flyweight for the first time and although talented he looks like he'll need a lot more seasoning before being ready for a title fight in boxing's toughest division.

A bout with relevance to Asian fight fans comes at Super Featherweight where the world ranked Stephen Smith (20-1, 12) battles Jacek Wylezol (11-8, 6) in a stay busy fight. We want to see Smith testing himself against the best in the world, such as Takashi Miura or Takashi Uchiyama, but bouts like this really do leave us wondering what Smith and his team are playing at.

In the US fans will see a number of notable bouts, the most notable of which is a WBC Featherweight title bout which sees monster puncher Jhonny Gonzalez (57-8, 48) defending his title against once touted American Gary Russell Jr (25-1, 14). Russell Jr is getting his second shot at a world title, after being beaten by Vasyl Lomachenko last year, whilst Gonzalez looks to record the 3rd defence of the title he won back in 2013 with an upset win against the then unbeaten Abner Mares. Really interesting fight and one we've seen opinions being split on.

In an excellent co-feature bout fans will see the talented Jermell Charlo (25-0, 11) battle against Vanes Martirosyan (35-1-1, 21). The fighters involved in this bout should have styles that make for an interesting fight, though we're unsure how exciting it will end up being. Both are talented fighters and both are in the hunt for a Light Middleweight title fight later in the year so both will fight for the win.

Jermell's twin brother Jermall Charlo (26-0, 16) will also be inaction on this card as he takes on Michael Finney (12-2-1, 10), who has gone 0-2-1 in his last 3 bouts. Although Finney is a good test for prospects we do think Charlo, both of them in fact, have progressed to contender status and this should be a mismatch in the ring.

In Mexico the bout of interesting will see the heavy handed Miguel Berchelt (24-1, 21) fighting against Rene Gonzalez (31-7-1, 23) in a potentially explosive clash between two men who can be hurt and can do the hurting. Neither man afford a loss here and both know that they will have to perform at their best is they are to remain relevant in the under-rated Super Featherweight division. The division looks set to change a lot in the coming 12 months and the loser here will unfortunately miss out on any coming opportunities. The winner however will find themselves put forward as a serious contender later in the year.

(Image courtey of www.notifght.com)

This past Saturday was one of the best days this year for boxing fans who really had a day to remember with some great fights, high octane action and real excitement.

For us the most exciting bout came from the US and was the Yoshihiro Kamegai Vs Robert Guerrero bout, but that's mentioned on other parts of the site. That was a really amazing brawl between two men who seemed happy to put on a show and just unleash power shots on one another from close range. It was the perfect ending to a fantastic day.

Prior to the Kamegai/Guerrero bout we had previously had two other televised bouts on the same show. The most notable of those was the WBO Featherweight title contest between former amateur standout Vasyl Lomachenko (2-1, 1) and the previously unbeaten, and very highly regarded, Gary Russell Jr (24-1, 14). The bout was Lomachenko's second successive title bout, following a controversial loss to Orlando Salido, and he took the lessons from his loss last time out and looked an improved fighter. Sadly for Russell Jr his string of limited opponents prior to this bout did him no favours and he seemed to lack a plan B choosing to just throw a lot of flurries from out of range rather than work his way towards the Ukrainian. Although the scorecards were read out as a majority decision for Lomachenko it seemed a clear victory for the Ukrainian who made Russell Jr miss repeatedly. Despite the win, which sees Lomachenko tying the long standing record of Saensak Muangsurin, there were flaws in what he did and he seemed to only show flashes of his true talent, hopefully he'll manage to fight at a higher pace for longer in fights rather than just a few bursts. Also if Lomachenko can find a real killer instinct he will be genuinely phenomenal. 

The opening bout from the broadcast on Showtime was another excellent match up as former 2-weight world champion Devon Alexander (26-2, 14) beat up the brave but limited Jesus Soto Karass (28-9-3-1, 18) in what was a very entertaining contest. Soto Karass did as he usually does and brought the action though Alexander was equal to it using his boxing, movement and han speed to land near enough at will with power shots. To his credit Soto Karass never stopped trying but he was the clear loser in what was an entertaining show opener.

Prior to the US action there was also a televised card from South Africa that was headlined by a contest between Middleweight contenders Martin Murray (28-1-1, 12) and Max Bursak (29-3-1, 12). The bout, for the WBC Silver Middleweight title wasn't particularly enjoyable to watch, in fact it was a gruelling hard bout to watch though one that was clearly won by Murray who will likely be hoping to set up a world title fight later this year. Unfortunately for him a bout with WBC champion Miguel Cotto seems very unlikely instead he'll likely have to chase after the IBF title currently held by Felix Sturm, though we'd love to see him share the ring with Gennady Golovkin.

On the same card in South Africa fans also saw a Cruiserweight battle to remember as Youri Kayembre Kalenga (20-1, 13) took the fight to Poland's Mateusz Masternak (33-1, 23) from the off. After 6 rounds it appeared to be all Kalenga though he then started to slow and the final few rounds were certainly more competitive, however the fight should never have been a split decision as it was scored, thankfully however the judges gave the right man the win. Interestingly this was for the WBA interim Cruiserweight and in theory Kalenga should be fighting Denis Lebedev in an up coming fight that could well be an absolute thriller.

Also on the South African card was the WBA Minimumweight title fight between Hekkie Budler and Pigmy Kokietgym.

One other bout of note, which took place on a smaller American card the one we've already mentioned, was an IBF Light Heavyweight eliminator between Nadjib Mohammedi (35-3, 20) and Anatoliy Dudchenko (19-3, 13). We were expecting this to be a competitive contest but Mohammedi just dominated the contest and forced the referee to save Dudchenko in the 7th round. This result makes Mohammedi the #1 contender to Bernard Hopkins and we'll admit that could be an interesting contest, at least more so that some of Hopkins's other recent bouts.

(Image courtesy of Shwotime)

This coming Saturday is a big one for a number of Asian fighters such as Yoshihiro Kamegai, who battles Robert Guerrero in a huge bout Stateside, and Pigmy Kokietgym, who will be hoping to win the WBA Minimumweight title, but it's not just Asian's in big fights.

The Kamegai/Guerrero bout is part of a high profile triple header in Carson, California. Whilst it's technically the main event more fans are interested in the shows sole title bout which will see former amateur sensation Vasyl Lomachenko (1-1, 1) battle against the unbeaten Gary Russell Jr (24-0, 14) for the vacant WBO Featherweight title. Lomachenko lost in his first attempt at the title, losing to an over-weight Orlando Salido, though will feel confident that the experiences from that fight will help him here as he attempts to tie the long standing record of Saensak Muangsurin. For Russell Jr this is finally a chance to prove that he's as good as he, and the American media, proclaim him to be. We tend to feel Lomachenko is the more skilled, stronger, more physically imposing and, despite the records suggesting otherwise, the more experienced. Russell Jr is the faster of the two and is "the home fighter" but that is pretty much all of his advantages.

The other part of the triple header will see former multi-weight title holder Devon Alexander (25-2, 14) battle against the brave but limited Jesus Soto Karass (28-9-3, 18). Karass is a genuine warrior but has a lot of limitations and we feel Alexander will make him pay for those limitations, however Alexander himself looked like a broken man last time out when he was bullied, battered and beaten by the rough house tactics of Shawn Porter and if Soto Karass saw that fight he will fancy his chances against the more skilled fighter.

Although not part of the main broadcast this same American show will also include the return to the ring of former Light Heavyweight champion Chad Dawson (31-3-0-2, 17) who will be fighting against the limited George Blades (23-5, 16). The 39 year old Blades has been hand selected as the fall guy for Dawson who comes into this bout on the back of back-to-back stoppage defeats, including an opening round blow out loss to Adonis Stevenson. Although Dawson is expected to win this bout, it's more about the performance than the result and anything but a shining performance will see Dawson cast aside as a "shot" fighter.

Whilst not a major bout this show is also expected to feature the debut of Fabian Maidana (0-0), the younger brother of Macos Maidana. Maidana will be fighting against Alejandro Artiaga (3-8, 1) in a bout that is expected to make Fabian look like a star despite it only being his debut. We know it's early but we're going to be following this young man carefully over the coming years.

Over on a card in Monaco, which includes the Pigmy Kokietgym fight, we again get several other notable bouts. Arguably the pick of those is a WBA interim Cruiserweight title fight between the once beaten Polish fighter Mateusz Masternak (32-1, 23) and the heavy handed French based Congolese fighter Youri Kayembre Kalenga (19-1, 13). Kalenga may have a loss on his record, a huge shock loss at that, but we've been very reliably informed that it was a home town robbery that could well have done more harm for Latvian boxing than good. Both guys here can punch, both can fight and both have plenty of question marks leading us to feeling that this could be the fight of the night. We know many fans are favouring Masternak but for us this is a 50-50 bout and we'd actually sway in favour of Kalenga.

The other major bout on this Monaco show will see Britain's Martin Murray (27-1-1, 12) battling against Ukrainian Max Bursak (29-2-1, 12) in a very interesting bout for the WBC Silver Middleweight title. Some fans feel that Murray was hard done by when he fought Felix Sturm and Sergio Martinez whilst other feel he was very fortunate to remain a contender after his contentious victory, late last year, over Sergey Khomitsky. Likewise many felt Bursak was unfortunate against Jarrod Fletcher, earlier this year, whilst people also though he was fortunate against Nick Blackwell. We don't mean to sound nasty but we'd suggest both of these fighters stay away from Gennady Golovkin if they wish to remain top contenders as their inconsistencies could really bite them. As for the fight with each other it should be an entertaining back and forth affair though we'd not be shocked by any result at all.

A final bout of note, which will be in the US, will see Anatoliy Dudchenko (19-2, 13) battle against Nadjib Mohammedi (34-3, 20). We believe the winner of this contest will be a mandatory for American legend Bernard Hopkins though neither man would be likely to give "B Hop" a tough night at the office.

(Image courtesy of WBANews)

The biggest bout this past Thursday was in the US as former Welterweight champions collided in a genuine crossroads fight. Unfortunately, though as with most with crossroad fights, the loser, in the case Victor Ortiz (29-5-2, 22), now has his career left in tatters.

Ortiz, returning from a 19 month break from the ring was left looking like a broken man after being stopped by Luis Collazo (35-5, 18) in just 2 rounds. The highly touted American puncher, once viewed as a potential pound-for-pound contender, has now suffered a trio of successive stoppage losses and it's hard to see where he can go with his career now.

For Collazo the victory is big. Following the bout he called out Floyd Mayweather, although that bout is unlikely there is a real possibility that he will manage to get a WBA world title fight later this year with either Keith Thurman or the winner of Marcos Maiadana/Adrien Broner II.

Also on this card was the very highly touted Gary Russell Jr (24-0, 14) who managed to score a stay busy victory over Miguel Tamayo (15-8-2, 13). Tamayo offered Russell Jr no real threat and did little more than act as a punch bag with Russell Jr apparently landing 42% of his punches including 58% of his power punches. 

We're hoping to see Russell Jr in a competitive bout next time out but with his career so far it's becoming hard to stay interested in this genuinely talented youngster.

Although American sports fans are, obviously, looking forward to Sunday night's "Superbowl" between the Denver Bronces and the Seattle Seahawks, they haven't managed to put a stop to boxing for the week. Instead boxing fans get treat to a small but notable card on Tuesday courtesy of Golden Boy Promotions.

The card is headlined by the return to the ring of the divisive "Vicious" Victor Ortiz (29-4-2, 22) who has been out of the ring for more than 18 months. Although much hyped Ortiz has shown a lack of the fighters mentality and often looks more like a bully than a boxer, of course like any good bully he's not a fan of being hit back.

The man attempting to hit Ortiz back will be former world champion Luis Collazo (34-5, 17) who although on the slide himself could act as the spoiler in a bout that looks very much like a 50-50 contest to us.

Both men will know this is a bout they must win, and a loss will be the end of their career at the TV level. With that in mind we may well see something very special from both men.

The other notable bout from this card is at Featherweight where Gary Russell Jr (23-0, 13) takes on Miguel Tamayo (15-7-2, 13) in nothing short of a complete mismatch. We want to like Russell Jr, we really do, but his match making has made us wonder if his management team really believe in him. He's already world ranked at Featherweight.

It's fair to say that the likes of Akifumi Shimoda, Nonito Donaire, Satoshi Hosono, Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo and Jun Doliguez will all be watching to see how Russell Jr looks. They are all ranked near Russell in at least 1 of the rankings and whilst they are unlikely to fight him, especially with the way he's being matched, they'll want to see how good the competition is and whether or not they have anything to be afraid of in the form America's top prospect at the weight.