This coming Saturday is a less than exciting day in international boxing. Much of the action is taking place in Europe, though there is some notable female action in Mexico.

The only male world title fight of the day takes place in Germany, however it's a less than exciting title bout that really shows how farcical the WBA are. The bout in question sees the very talented WBA “regular” Light Heavyweight champion Juergen Braehmer (46-2, 34) defending his belt against Konni Konrad (22-1-1, 11). Breahmer is talented, but he's a league lower than WBA “super” champion Sergey Kovalev. Konrad on the other hand is a pitiful challenger who is ranked #133 by boxrec.com, an accurate ranking showing just what a joke he is as a challenger.

The German card does feature some interesting hopes, such as Cruiserweight Noel Gevor (18-0, 10) and Super Middleweight prospect Stefan Haertel (6-0), both of whom should continue their perfect runs.

The other European card of note comes from Leeds where fans get the chance to see a number of notable fighters, though unfortunately the bouts are, on the whole, horrible mismatches.

On paper the most interesting of the bouts will see the unbeaten, and hugely popular, Josh Warrington (21-0, 4) take on Australian Joel Brunker (28-1, 16). This looks a good bout on paper but Brunker has got a padded record and Warrington has been relatively over-hyped, based on his fan base. It should be an entertaining fight but one that won't really effect the world scene.

One fighter who may be eyeing up a future world title fight is former IBF Bantamweight champion Stuart Hall (17-4-2, 7) who takes on the horribly matched Arnoldo Solano (14-10) in what is a farcical mismatch. Another terrible mismatch will see former world title challenger Tony Bellew (24-2-1, 15) take on Arturs Kulikauskis (16-26-5, 8). Another former world title challenger on this card is Martin Murray (31-2-1, 14) who faces Jose Miguel Torres (31-6, 27). On paper the Murray bout looks good but the reality is that Torres is a limited opponent who was beaten black and blue by David Lemieux not too long ago.

The most notable action in Americas comes from Mexico where fans will get a couple of female world title fights. On paper the most exciting of those comes at 108lbs where Ibeth Zamora Silva (23-5, 9) will defend her belt against Esmeralda Moreno (31-7-1, 10). On paper this could actually be the fight of the day. On the same card fans will also get the chance to see the much touted Rey Vargas (24-0, 20), who many are tipping to become a world champion.

Another female title fight set to take place in Mexico will see WBA female Minimumweight champion Anabel Ortiz (17-3, 3) defending her title against the once beaten Sandra Robles (11-1, 5). This will be Ortiz's first bout since defeating Nana Yoshikawa back in April and we don't expect to see her struggle with Robles, despite the fact Robles is on a 9 fight winning streak.

This coming weekend isn't a big one but there is a number of interesting bouts scheduled for it, despite none of the being ground breaking contests.

Of the bouts in question 3 take place in Mexico on the same show from Chiapas.

The main event here will see Emanuel Lopez (17-4-1, 6) battle against Carlos Padilla (15-1-1, 9) in a cynical match up for the WBA “interim” Super Featherweight title. The match up is appalling for a “title” bout but could be an interesting fight. Lopez is the slightly better known fighter having managed to record a draw with Cristobal Cruz a year ago though other than that he has little on his record. Padilla on the other hand is completely unknown, having only faced one fighter of any real significance.

Another frivolous WBA “interim” title bout will see the unbeaten Joselyn Arroyo Ruiz (17-0, 7) battle against Maribel Ramirez (9-7-2, 3) for the WBA interim female Flyweight title. This looks like a mismatch and Ramirez has gone 1-4-1 in her last 6, including a 4th round KO loss to Naoko Fujioka a couple of years ago. We know the WBA like their sanctioning fees but they really are devaluing their own titles with bouts like this.

Thankfully there is some common sense in place on this show with a brilliant match up between Nicaraguan visitor Carlos Buitrago (27-1-1-1, 16) and Mexico's very own Mario Rodriguez (19-9-4, 12). We like Buitrago, a lot, and he was unfortunate in both of his set backs, including a loss to Knockout CP Freshmart, and he should have enough to over-come the tough but limited Rodriguez. For those who recognise Rodriguez's name he is a former IBF Minimumweight champion who was beaten by Katsunari Takayama a couple of years ago. Coming into this bout Rodriguez is 4-3 in his last 7 and we'd not be shocked to see him drop another bout here.

On paper the most significant bout of the day is actually in Europe where another WBA title will be up for grabs as WBA "regular" Light Heavyweight champion Juergen Braehmer (45-2, 33) defends his secondary title against Robin Krasniqi (43-3, 16). On paper this looks a good bout between honest professionals with a lot of experience. The reality however is that Krasniqi is a very limited challenger and Braehmer has seen much better days. That's not to say it's a bad bout but it's, once again, not a “world class” bout, despite what the WBA may be suggesting.

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)

Some weekends are busy without really being busy. They aren't weekends with legions of fights but yet they are weekends with enough notable action to look back and go "that was an interesting day or two in world boxing". 

We've had one such weekend this week with Saturday boasting more than the typical weekend's worth of fights with a trio of male world title bouts, a female world title bout and a slew of other intriguing contests.

We'll start with the biggest fight of the weekend which took place in the legendary Madison Square garden and featured a boxer who could very well describe the place as a second home, in fact there is every chance the venue will begin charging him rent if he keeps returning. That man is Puerto Rican super star Miguel Cotto (39-4, 32) who put on one of his most sensational performances to date to claim the WBC and Lineal Middleweight title with an awe inspiring victory over Argentina's Sergio Gabriel Martinez (51-3-2, 28). Cotto started like a man possessed and dropped Martinez 3 times in the opening round. Unfortunately whilst it was the perfect start for Cotto it was a nightmare start for some who realised immediately that this was just a shell of Martinez. The Argentinian showed great heart to not just get back up but also fight on until being retired in his corner at the start of round 10.

The win for Cotto reaffirms his position as the king of MSG and one of the truly elite fighters of his generation. It's a win that gives him a lot of options as to who he will be fighting next. Sadly however the result likely sends Martinez into retirement on what can be described as a humiliating contest for the Argentinian who never got the chance to really show his skills. He was admittedly 39 and physically a broken man but he'll have hated going out like this. This result also moves us all a step further from Gennady Golovkin getting a chance to prove he's the Middleweight on the planet as we cannot see any possible way in which Cotto and Golovkin get in the ring together.

On the same card as Cotto's victory we had a little bit of everything. In the first bout of the main broadcast fans saw a KO of the year contender as Andy Lee (33-2, 23) landed saved his career with a perfect right hand that knocked the promising John Jackson (18-2, 15) out cold. Jackson had dropped Lee earlier in the bout and seemed to be going for the kill before being sent to the canvas from a single shot that instantly ended the bout. John Jackson, the son of famed puncher Julian Jackson, will have been feeling exactly the same as Herol "Bomber" Graham was when Graham fought John's father and was seemingly on the way to winning a fight before being caught by one of the greatest KO punches of all time.

Another of the bouts on the same card saw exciting Argentinian Javier Francisco Maciel (29-3, 20) score an excellent victory over Puerto Rican puncher Jorge Melendez (28-4-1, 26). Maciel had only taken the bout on a few weeks notice but took his opportunity and really impressed fans who hadn't seen him before. Although, from the reports available, he was paid very little there are hopes that he will be invited back to the US for a more notable bout. Interesting a bout between Maciel and Lee would be something we'd love to see if Top Rank want to put that one one.

The same card also saw Marvin Sonsona avenge his sole career defeat as he out pointed Wilfredo Vazquez Jr in a bit of a stinker.

The most relevant world title fight for many Asian fighters took place in the UK as the unbeaten Paul Butler (16-0, 8) narrowly over-came Stuart Hall (16-3-2, 7) and claimed the IBF Bantamweight title in a very close bout that one judge, some how, saw as a dominant victory for Butler. Although Butler looked very classy at times he was unable to hurt Hall who came on very strong in the second half of the fight and in all honesty it could have gone either way. 

Although their was talk of a rematch between Hall and Butler it does seem likely that Butler will be forced to fight IBF mandatory challenger Randy Cabellero next. Cabellero, who travelled to Japan and beat Kohei Oba in an IBF eliminator, has been left waiting longer than expected and will be rearing to go at Butler who is skilled but is more of a natural Super Flyweight than Bantamweight. Despite what British TV suggest Butler would not be eligible to immediately move down and fight for the IBF Super Flyweight title with a bout for that belt now set for month at the amazing Protopia hotel in Kobe between Teiru Kinoshita and Zolani Tete.

On the same British card we've got to admit we were very impressed by Bradley Saunders (10-0, 8) who looked sensational in an 81 second blow out of the usually durable Ville Piispanen (18-5-3, 6). This victory saw Saunders winning the WBO Inter-continental Light Welterweight title and at 28 years old we'd expect him to be put on a relative fast track for a British fighter.

The other world title action was in Germany where we had both a male world title fight and a female world title bout.

The male bout saw the talented but controversial heavyweight Juergen Braehmer (44-2, 32) retain his WBA Light Heavyweight title with a decision victory over Argentina's Roberto Feliciano Bolonti (35-3, 24). Braehmer, although not a spectacular fighter, is experienced skilled, and the sort of fighter who will never be an easy opponent for anyone at Light Heavyweight. Sadly he's also not a big traveller meaning that he's almost certainly not going to get in amongst the divisional elite, such as Sergey Kovalev, Bernard Hopkins or Adonis Stevenson. Instead the WBA title is likely to remain in Germany until someone surprises Braehmer.

Whilst Breahmer will never be the best in his division it's almost ludicrous to deny that Cecilia Braekhus (25-0, 7) is the best female Welterweight on the planet. She again showed her class as she defended her WBA, WBC and WBO female titles in impressive fashion clearly defeating the out-classed Jessica Balogun (24-4-, 12) in a masterful performance. At 32 years old there is little out there for Braekhus though there is a mooted super-fight with Christina Hammer, that's almost the only bout that anyone wants to see her in, though contests with Delfine Persoon or Erica Anabella Farias might do if a contest with Hammer can't be organised.

(Image courtesy of Top Rank)

When we look at big weekends in the boxing world we tend to speak about weekends which are busy with numerous would title fights across all sorts of divisions. We do have numerous world title bouts this Saturday but we've got to admit that all the excitement surrounds just one of those world title contests with the others coming as more of a pleasant distraction whilst we wait.

The big fight is in New York as two of the sports genuinely big names collide in a bout for the WBC Middleweight title. This will see defending champion Sergio Gabriel Martinez (51-2-2, 28), fighting for the first time in over a year, battling against Puerto Rican superstar Miguel Cotto (38-4, 31). For Cotto this is a chance to become a 4 weight world champion, for Martinez it's a chance to return to the ring and try and claim another notable victory.

Although Martinez/Cotto fight is the main event in Madison Square Garden it is just one of a number of bouts that we feel is of interest. Another of those bouts is obviously the rematch between Marvin Sonsona and Wilfredo Vazquez Jr whilst another is a brilliant Light Middleweight contest between the huge puncher Jorge Melendez (28-3-1, 26) and former world title challenger Javier Francisco Maciel (28-3, 10). This is one that has split us over who will win and looks like a really exciting contest between two men who really can bang.

A 4th bout of interest here will see see the popular Andy Lee (32-2, 22) take on the big punching John Jackson (18-1, 15). Jackson is the young son of former world champion Julius Jackson and numerous people from the media are very high on the kid and Lee should be able to give him a genuine test here.

One of the few "other" world title buts takes place in the UK where IBF Bantamweight champion Stuart Hall (16-2-2, 7) takes on the promising and unbeaten Paul Butler (15-0, 8). We think this chance really should have gone to Randy Caballero, who beat Kohei Oba in an eliminator earlier this year. We do like the fight in terms f what it should say about both though aren't convinced either man is even the best Bantamweight in the UK so we do feel a little annoyed at the IBF more than the men involved.

In Germany we get the two remaining big bouts. The first will see female pound-for-pound queen Cecilia Braekhus (24-0, 7) defending her collection of titles against against the tough but limited Jessica Balogun (24-3, 12). We expect Braekhus to show off her skills here but it's as good a match as you can make for the Welterweight queen who really is untouchable at times. Unfortunately the other bout, which sees WBA Light Heavyweight champion Juergen Braehmer (43-2, 32) defending his belt against Roberto Feliciano Bolonti (35-2, 24) looks like a major mismatch, despite the similar records of the men involved.

The only other bout real note is in Mexico where the big punching former world champion Daniel Ponce De Leon (45-6, 35) takes on the tough Miguel Roman (45-11, 34)  in a bout that could turn out to be a slug fest of the highest order.

(Image courtesy of Top Rank)

This past Saturday was interesting day for the hardcore fans out there. There no fights with big names, there was no headline attraction in the US but their was plenty of bouts of note scattered around the place.

The most important of those bouts was in Germany as Juergen Braehmer (43-2, 32), pictured, defended his WBA "regular" Light Heavyweight title for the first time. The German veteran managed to score a stoppage over former Cruiserweight title holder Enzo Maccarinelli (38-7, 30) who was pulled out by corner after suffering a nasty swelling around his eye and effectively leaving his trainer with little option other than to pull him out of the contest.

Braehmer's bout was one of two "world" title bouts on Saturday with the other seeing Mexico's Marco Antonio Rubio (59-6-1, 51) stopping Italy's Domenico Spada (38-5, 19) in the 10th round to claim the WBC interim Middleweight title. In theory this puts Rubio as the next challenger to the winner of the bout between Sergio Mora and Miguel Cotto but having following Rubio for a while we expect he'll be forced to wait on the sidelines, once again.

On the same show in Mexico their was a female bout between Ibeth Zamora Silva (20-5, 8) and Judith Rodriguez (6-7, 4). Although we don't imagine either of this will be fighting Asian fighters next both have, in recent bouts, faced Naoko Shibata. Zamora managed to take an 8 round decision though we're unsure if the bout was to keep her active or was "La Roca" dipping her toes in the Flyweight division.

A separate show in Mexico saw the highly regarded Giovani Segura (32-3-1, 28) stopping Felipe Salguero (19-6-1, 14) in an absolutely thrilling contest. Salguero refused to just give in and gave back as good as he got in some rounds before being stopped late. We're not expecting Segura to face the winner of the upcoming Flyweight title bout between Juan Francisco Estrada and Richie Mepranum which is to take place in a few weeks time.

(Photo thanks to boxrec.com

Whilst the clear highlight for the coming weekend for us is in Japan on Sunday plenty of fans around the world will be excited about Saturday and the major fights that are taking place in Germany and Mexico.

For many fans through out Europe their is only 1 bout that really matters. This bout, in Germany, sees German Juergen Braehmer (42-2, 31) defending his WBA Light Heavyweight title against big hitting Brit Enzo Maccarinelli (38-6, 30), Maccarinelli, a former Cruiserweight champion, is looking to become a 2-weight world champion though his career has been full of up and downs and this is his toughest bout since his 2010 loss to Alexander Frenkel. 

Braehmer is the clear betting favourite though will know that this is no walk over due to Maccarinelli's ferocious power.

The Braehmer/Maccarinelli bout is one of two "world title" bout taking place on Saturday with Mexican veteran Marco Antonio Rubio (58-6-1, 50) battling against Domenico Spada (38-4, 19) in a bout for the interim WBC Middleweight title. Rubio is one of the hard luck stories of recent boxing and it's be great to see him finally win a world title though unfortunately he's unlikely to ever be seen as a top champion in the division, especially considering some of the other fighters in the Middleweight division.

In a non-title fight in Mexico the highly ranked Giovani Segura (31-3-1, 27) will take on Felipe Salguero (19-5-1, 14) in what is regarded as a warm up fight for Segura before he moves on to fight for a world title later this year. We love watching Segura and hope to see another thrilling contest here.

(Image courtesy of boxnation.com)