Much of today's most notable and most exciting comes from Canada where fans are in for a treat, in fact they are in for one of the best shows this year with 3 genuinely notable bouts and 2 lesser quality support bouts. As well as the Canadian show we also have notable action in Mexico with several interesting contests.

We'll start with Canada where the main event is a blockbuster Light Heavyweight bout between the thunderously hard hiting Sergey Kovalev (26-0-1, 23) and tough Canadian based Haitian Jean Pascal (29-2-1-1, 17). Kovalev will be defending the WBA “Super” , IBF and WBO titles in his first bout since he convincingly defeated Bernard Hopkins last year and this could be his second big win. As for Pascal he needs a good win here if he's to remain a big fighter fighter, especially after his farcical contest with Roberto Bolonti last time out and his terrible unexciting contest with Lucian Buta last January.

A brilliant support bout will see former Cruiserweight champion Steve Cunningham (28-6, 13) battle against unbeaten Heavyweight hopeful Vyacheslav Glazkov (19-0-1, 12) who has been really been unconvincing in recent contests. Glazkov needs a good performance to remain relevant whilst Cunningham will be hoping to move one fight closer to a potential mega-payday which he is well due before his retirement.

The second big support bout will see Vasily Lepikhin (17-0, 9) battle against Isaac Chilemba (23-2-2, 10) in a really well match Light Heavyweight bout. The winner here may well be the next opponent for the Kovalev/Pascal winner and it wouldn't be a surprise for this contest to be a very competitive bout.

In a supporting under-card bout Nadjib Mohammedi (36-3, 22), another top Light Heavyweight contender, will take on Lee Campbell (8-1, 4) in a stay busy fight whilst former Light Welterweight title challenger Dierry Jean (27-1, 19) takes on Carlos Manuel Reyes (25-3-1, 17) in what should be an easy win for Jean.

In Tijuana, Mexico fans will get the chance to see former world IBF Super Flyweight champion Juan Carlos Sanchez Jr (19-3-1, 9) battle against the highly experienced Luis Melendez (41-9-1, 30), himself a former world title challenger. This could be an good contest but Sanchez Jr should be too fresh for the 35 year old Melendez. On the same card Yazmin Rivas (31-8-0-4, 9) looks to defend her WBC female Bantamweight title against the little known Celina Salazar (6-1-2, 1).

On a second Mexican card, held in México, fan will see heavy handed Bantamweight contender Julio Ceja (28-1, 26) battle against former world title challenger Oscar Blanquet (32-9-1, 23), who enters this bout on a run of 5 successive losses including a loss to Akira Yaegashi and a stoppage to Roman Gonzalez.

(Image courtesy of fightnetwork.com)

This weekend isn't a huge one but it's a genuinely exciting one with a number of notable bouts on the fringes of world class.

The biggest show of the night comes from New York where Golden Boy Promotions will be putting on a really good triple header.

The main event from the US show will see the heavy handed David Lemieux (32-2, 30) battle against former world title challenger Gabriel Rosado (21-8-0-1, 13) in what promises to be an explosive encounter. Lemieux is very exciting but very flawed and will be attempting to stop Rosado from the off, if he fails to win early then Rosado will fancy his chance to score his first win in more than 2 years.

In a Light Middleweight bout on the same show the unbeaten Hugo Centeno Jr (21-0-0-1, 11) battles against the promising James De la Rosa (23-2, 13). For De la Rosa this is a chance to build on his upset win over Alfredo Angulo earlier this year whilst for Centeno this allows him a chance to score his second win of the year and continue his development.

The third interesting bout on this show will see two contenders in action each looking to moves towards a world title bout next year. This bout will see the much touted Thomas Dulorme (21-1, 14) battling against Henry Lundy (25-3-1, 12). We're expecting that this could be a genuinely great bout in the ring and although it's likely to be over-shadowed by the Lemiuex/Rosado bout it should still be a great bout with both men real skills and under-rated power.

In Canada fans will see the popular Jean Pascal (29-2-1, 17) battle against Argentinian veteran Roberto Feliciano Bolonti (35-3, 24) in what is a bit of a stay busy bout for the talented Canadian based Haitian. If Pascal wins here, as is expected of him, he will meet Sergey Kovalev early next year in what looks to be a brilliant contest and another chance for Kovalev to prove that he's the best fighter at 175lbs.

Continuing with Light Heavyweights German fans will also get the chance to see a highly regarded Light Heavyweight in action as WBA “regular” champion Juergen Braehmer (44-2, 32) battles against Pawel Glazewski (23-2, 5). This will be Braehmer's third defense of the bout, strangely following a defense over the previously mentioned Bolonti.

In Mexico Super Featherweight hopeful Adrian Estrella (19-0, 17), a possible future opponent for Takashi Miura, will be defending his WBC FECARBOX title against the heavy handed but limited Edwin Lopez (21-3-1, 19). From what we understand Estrella has shown an interest in a bout with Miura for next year and it would certainly be an exciting contest between two fearsome punchers. Of course Estrella will need to get past Lopez first.


(Image courtesy of Barclays Center)

This past Saturday was one of the most interesting days so far this year in terms of scheduled fights. Unfortunately however the day proved to be better on paper than it was in reality with very few fights living up to their promise and very few fighters really shining like they could have done.

The biggest disappointment of the night came in Quebec, Canada in easily the most anticipated fight of the year so far. In one corner there was Jean Pascal (29-2-1, 17), a Haitian born Canadian based fighter who had been the WBC Light Heavyweight champion, whilst in the other corner was Lucian Bute (31-2, 24) a Romanian based in Canada who had previously held the IBF Super Middleweight title. The fight, viewed as potentially the biggest Canadian fight in history, was disappointing from the off with both men looking nervous and struggling to get in to any sort of a groove. Unfortunately the nerves took a long time to wear off and this meant there was very little clean action from either man for long swathes of the fight.

The fight was meant to set up an opponent for a bout with for Adonis Stevenson though Pascal, who took the victory, looked unwilling to commit to that bout and instead seemed to hint at a rematch. Unfortunately after this stinker we can't imagine fans wanting to see a re-do. Interesting we also can't see either man wanting to be the next victim of Russian puncher Sergey Kovalev who, on this showing, would dismantle either man.

The same card also saw a disappointing Heavyweight performance from Mike Perez (20-0-1, 12) who gave a lackluster performance in a draw with Carlos Takam (29-1-1, 23). The bout was supposed to be a chance for Perez to build on his victory over Magomed Abdusalamov, unfortunately however it appears that that bout took it all out of Perez who looked mentally done as a fighter. The Perez/Abdusalamov fight, late last year, left the Russian in a coma and it seems that Perez has been seriously effected by that which is a shame considering how great he had looked in that fight.

Staying with the Quebec card for just a moment a moment longer. There was another televised Light Heavyweight contest. This one saw Canadian based Colombian Eleider Alvarez (14-0, 8) take a hard fought decision over the tough Andrew Gardiner (10-1, 6). This bout was meant to be a show case for Alvarez though unfortunately for the Colombian he failed to really impress and actually managed to turn fans against him by the end of the contest. Considering his potential and skills this was highly disappointing from Alvarez.

Outside of Canada we had 2 fights, not involving Asian's, that were of interest in Mexico. One of these saw the highly ranked Felipe Orucuta (29-2, 24) defeating Gabriel Pena (5-5-1, 2), who retired at the start of round 10, whilst the other saw female starlet Yazmin Rivas (29-8-0-4, 9) dominate Calixta Silgado (11-3-2, 8). For Orucuta the fight was likely about staying active and little else, though he certainly didn't impress as some, including ourselves had expected. Rivas however wasn't just out to stay busy but was fighting to force a rematch with Jessica Gonzalez who claim an absolutely robbery against her last year. On her performance Rivas is a fighter that isn't to be messed with in her current mood.

Staying with female action there was a major upset in Argentina as Ana Laura Esteche (10-3-1, 2) ripped the WBA female Light Welterweight title from the previously unbeaten Monica Silvina Acosta (19-1-2, 5). This was probably the shock of the night and one of the biggest shocks of the year so far. One result that wasn't a shock however was in Chile was the wonderfully talented Carolina Rodriguez (11-0, 1) dominated Simone Da Silva Duarte (14-5, 6) to defend her WIBA Bantamweight title.

Whilst we weren't impressed by the fighters in Canada we need to admit that Yazmin Rivas, Carolina Rodriguez and Ana Laura Esteche all deserve a good mention for their performances.

With a number of Asian fighters fighting on Asian soil this weekend we may have been forgiven a little for forgetting about this weekend's international action. Instead however we've actually become rather excited about it and more interestingly is the fact it takes place over several countries, proving that boxing is starting to really get underway for the new year.

For most boxing fans the key fight is in the Light Heavyweight division where we get 3 really interesting bouts all on the same card in Quebec, Canada.

The biggest of those Light Heavyweight bouts is a brilliant match up between Jean Pascal (28-2-1, 17) and Lucien Bute (31-1, 24). Although the bout has the NABF title on the line it's actually a bout that doesn't need any belt at all to sell it with it being the biggest bout one could make in Canada. The fighters have shown a dislike of each other, their fans have shown a general resentment of the other man and the fight it's self is as close to a 50-50 contest as we could have. To be frankly honest this is what domestic level boxing is all about and we really appreciate the promoters for putting it together.

On paper the winner of Pascal/Bute should walk in to a bout with WBC champion Adonis Stevenson, though we'd not be hugely shocked if WBO champion Sergey Kovalev managed to get one of the two men in his next fight as well.

The other Light Heavyweight bouts on the card include 3 very interesting unbeaten fighters. The most notable unbeaten man is Russian's Artur Beterbiev (3-0, 3) who takes on the tough Gabriel Lecrosnier (16-25-3, 1) in what should be a bout to get rounds under Beterbiev's belt. The other bout, an all-unbeaten clash between Eleider Alvarez (13-0, 8) and Andrew Gardiner (10-0, 6) is a bout we love the look of and should be a thriller for as long as it lasts.

One final bout from this Canadian card that we want to talk about is a Heavyweight bout between Cuba's Mike Perez (20-0, 12) and the once beaten Carlos Takam (29-1, 23). Perez, who fought in a tragic bout with Russian Magomed Abdusalamov late last year, will be hoping that that bout doesn't have lingering effects on him, though if it does he could well find his career unwinding here against the dangerous Takam in a bout that does scream "must watch".

Outside of Canada we have a several female bouts that interests us. The most notable is the Super Bantamweight bout in Mexico between Yazmin Rivas (28-8, 9) and Calixta Silgado (11-2-2, 8). This bout, which shares the headline of the card in Jalisco alongside Fernando Lumacad's bout with Horacio Garcia, is only a secondary title bout though really it should be for a world belt with Rivas having been cruelly robbed of her title late last year.

In Chile we have another female Super Bantamweight bout with the unbeaten Carolina Rodriguez (10-0, 1) defending her WIBA title against Brazil's Simone Da Silva Duarte (14-4, 6). Rodriguez, Chile's first ever world champion, is unlikely to really have the big bouts her talent deserves but will be happy in being a national boxing hero.

The final interesting female bout is in Argentina where Monica Silvina Acosta (19-0-2, 5) defends her WBA Light Welterweight title against Ana Laura Esteche (9-3-1, 2). This should be a very easy bout for the highly talented Acosta, though unfortunately she doesn't have too many options in her division and this bout may well be as good as it gets for 2014.

Back to the men, the most interesting bout, other than the ones in Canada, is in Hermosillo, Mexico, as the very highly regarded Felipe Orucuta (28-2, 23) takes on Efrain Perez (16-4, 11). Orucuta, the WBO #1 at Super Flyweight, will be eying up a potential rematch with Omar Andres Narvaez, the WBO champion who beat him via a split decision last year. Of course Orucuta isn't the only man looking to fight Narvaez with Daiki Kameda said to be angling for a fight with him and a loss for the Mexican puncher would see him falling from graces with the WBO and a door being left open to various Asian fighters.

Of course we believe a few Asian fight fans will be tuning in to the Hermosillo show to see the potentially explosive encounter between Marco Demecillo and David Sanchez in what is potentially the best fight of the weekend.

We believe that's all the big international bouts for this weekend and hopefully we'll see a few of the bouts living up to their potential.