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.

Some days are really good for boxing and this past Saturday was one of those days with a lot of action spread around the globe. It had something for everyone as well. From the casual fans there was Adrien Broner whilst for the hardcore fans there was Juan Francisco Estrada. For the Brits there was Carl Frampton whilst for the Argentinians there was Lucas Matthysse. And better yet they were spread over 3 shows.

The first of the days major results was in Belfast as the hugely popular Carl Frampton (19-0, 13) claimed the IBF Super Bantamweight title with a clear and dominant decision victory over Spaniard Kiko Martinez (31-5, 23). Martinez, known for wins over Hozumi Hasegawa amongst others, was unable to impose himself against Frampton who at times looked exceptional. Despite clearly winning, and being impressive, Frampton didn't show anything to suggest he would be a threat to Guillermo Rigondeaux and in fact the gulf between those two is huge. Thankfully it seems he knows it and instead of calling out the Cuban has hinted at fights with Scott Quigg and Leo Santa Cruz, both easier and more exciting bouts. For Martinez this was his second loss to Frampton though he'll have felt happier this time considering he was knocked out last time he fought the talented Northern Irishman.

Several hours after the Frampton/Martinez bout we moved on to action from the US with a televised card that was shown by Showtime. The card had big names on it but little in terms of competitive action. 

The first bout on the televised part of the Showtime card saw former world champion Andre Berto (29-3, 22) take a clear though thoroughly uninspiring decision victory over the toothless Steve Upsher Chambers (24-4-1, 6). Whilst some will excuse Berto's performance due to surgery it's unthinkable that he will become a force in boxing again, in fact if anything this bout suggested that he may have become a gatekeeper as opposed to a contender. For Upsher Chambers it was a chance to shine though he didn't take the chance at all and fought as if a win would force into witness protection. It's fair to say that both were very disappointing given that they were being televised by Showtime.

Following the sleep inducing bout between Berto and Upsher Chambers we then got controversy as Argentinian puncher Lucas Martin Matthysse (36-3-0-1, 34) scored an anti-climatic stoppage against the previously unbeaten Mexican Roberto Ortiz (31-1-1, 24) who appeared to be counted out at 9 late in the second round. Ortiz clearly beat the 10 count but the referee, Benjy Esteves Jr, clearly botched the call to allow Matthysse a disappointingly early win. Matthysse retained his WBC Silver Light Welterweight title with this win though seemed to admit that he was unhappy with the ending. Matthysse did call out Danny Garcia after the fight though it seems he may need to do with a second option, someone like Adrien Broner, next time out.

Talking about Adrien Broner (29-1, 22), boxing's very own clown, was in the main event and fought fellow American Emmanuel Taylor (18-3, 12) in a bout that ended up being incredibly competitive though further showed that Broner is not the fighter he thinks he is or that Showtime want to tell he is. Broner scored the win via  a narrow unanimous decision that was punctuated by a 12th round knockdown that really saved his blushes and possibly saved him from a draw.  This bout, if anything, showed that Broner still struggles with aggression and that he was certainly fortunate that Taylor lacked the power to make the most of his defensive issues. Broner did call out Matthysse after the fight and that does seem to be the logical next step for both though boxing rarely makes sense and we'd not be shocked if they went in their own directions.

Whilst Broner was fighting Taylor in the US the hardcore fans tuned into action from Mexico as unified Flyweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada (27-2, 20) successfully defended his titles against the, almost, always fun to watch Giovani Segura (32-4-1, 28). We had really high hopes for this bout though need to admit we were disappointed by it. The fight had promised a war on paper though unfortunately Segura looked like a shadow of his usual self and was really dominated from the opening until he eventually saved by the referee in round 11. The one thing Segura showed through out the bout was that he was still tough, sadly for him that just prolonged the beating that Estrada gave him. If boxing is logical then the next step for Estrada is a rematch with Roman Gonzalez, who stopped Akira Yaegashi yesterday. toe claim the WBC title If that takes place then it will unify the WBA, WBO and WBC Flyweight titles and clearly define a #1 in the division.


(Image courtesy of http://www.cyclonepromotions.com)

In the last few weeks US network "Showtime" have come in for some pretty wide spread condemnation from boxing fans for allowing Al Haymon and "TMT" to put together some appalling matches between them. Those matches have included some real duds like Danny Garcia Vs Rod Salka, Lamont Peterson Vs Edgar Santana and Badou Jack Vs Jason Escalera. Sadly the same continues this weekend with some less than desirable matches been screened by the channel and being viewed by many casual fans as the highlight of the boxing weekend. Sadly those fans are being mislead as the key action is in Mexico and Japan.

We'll start show however which features a trio of notable fighters all of whom will be backed strongly against their lesser known foes.

The first of the 3 US bouts will be a contest between former Welterweight title holder Andre Berto (28-3, 22) and the little known Steve Upsher Chambers (24-3-1, 6). Berto, like so many American fighters, was dubbed as the future of the sport a few years ago. Since then however his career has hit a brick wall and he has suffered a trio of notable defeats to Victor Ortiz, Robert Guerrero and Jesus Soto Karass whilst also failing a drugs test and getting a controversial stoppage win over Jan Zaveck. This is must win for Berto though with his confidence likely at an all time low there is no certainty that he'll be able to stop the rot against a man knowing that a win will boost him to a major fight.

Another bout on this card will see former 3 weight world champion Adrien Broner (28-1, 22) battle against Emmanuel Taylor (18-2, 12). Like Berto we heard the hype machine go into over-drive about Broner who some dubbed as the future of boxing whilst others anointed him as the successor to Floyd Mayweather Jr. At the end of the day however Broner looked poor against Marcos Maidana and Carlos Molina and many are now wondering whether he will ever even get close to the heady heights predicted of him. We would imagine Broner will have more than enough to take a win over Taylor here though some are building up Taylor as a real threat to Broner. For what it's worth Taylor looked like a fringe contender when he was easily beaten by Chris Algieri earlier this year, though Algieri has proven his worth with a win over Ruslan Provodnikov and has moved onto a mega fight with Manny Pacquiao.

Thankfully the show isn't a total write off and we're expecting great things of the other bout on this card as the always fun to watch Lucas Martin Matthysse (35-3-0-1, 33) battles against unbeaten Mexican Roberto Ortiz (31-0-1, 24). This bout promises fire works though we wonder whether or not Ortiz will be able to stand up the power of "The Machine", if he can we could be in for a FOTY contender. Unfortunately not many can take Matthysse's power and we'd not be shocked to see Ortiz stopped early.

In Mexico we have a fight that we think will be the fight of the night as unified Flyweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada (26-2, 19) defends his WBO and WBA "super" titles against the always fun Giovani Segura (32-3-1, 28). Estrada gave Roman Gonzalez arguably his toughest bout to date and has since gone on to make a name for himself as one of the stand out guys at 112lbs. The champion combines teak toughness, freakish strength, great skills and fantastic work rate whilst Segura is an out and out fighter who often looks crude but tends to win a brawl more often than not. It's hoped that the winner here will fight the winner of the Akira Yaegashi/Roman Gonzalez bout which will take place on Friday, if we do get the winners meeting then we'll have an almost completely unified Flyweight crown and a clear pound-for-pound fighter in the division.

In Northern Ireland we get another interesting looking bout as IBF Super Bantamweight champion Kiko Martinez (31-4, 23) battles against the insanely popular Carl Frampton (18-0, 13). This bout is a rematch following Frampton's KO of Martinez last year. Since then however Martinez has looked like a monster 4 wins, all by stoppage, including victories over Jhonatan Tomero, Jeffrey Mathebula and Hozumi Hasegawa. As for Frampton he has scored stoppages over the limited Jeremy Parodi and former Light Flyweight champion Hugo Fidel Cazares following his win over Martinez. This is a chance for Martinez to avenge his only stoppage loss and an opportunity for Frampton to get his hands on a world title. A genuinely brilliant fight.

(Image courtesy of http://www.boxnoticias.net)

Spanish fighter Kiko "La Sensación" Martinez (30-4, 22) made the first successful defense of his IBF Super Bantamweight this past weekend as he stopped South Africa's Jeffrey Mathebula (27-5-2, 14) in 9 rounds. The bout, from the first bell to the last, was pretty much one sided with Martinez setting and unbelievable pace from the opening bell before an exhausted and beaten up Mathebula conceded defeat.

Martinez is now likely to be forced into a very tough bout. The likely options are either a defense against Carl Frampton (17-0, 12), a man who has already stopped Martinez, or a unification with either Scott Quigg (27-0-2, 20) or Guillermo Rigondeaux (13-0, 8). It's likely Martinez will take the option which pays best, though if he was looking for the easier fight it's probably, style-wise, Quigg.

From an Asian perspective we'd love to see Martinez fighting one of the Asian Super Bantamweights such as Hidenori Otake (21-1-3, 9) or Yasutaka Ishimoto (23-6, 6) who are both ranked by the IBF. Unfortunately neither of these men are likely to get the fight due to the fact neither has a bigger enough name to make the bout attractive to Martinez who maybe stripped if he doesn't unify or face Frampton, the IBF #2 ranked fighter.

In terms of the Super Bantamweight division it is an interesting one from an Asian perspective with Otake and Ishimoto joined by Shingo Wake (15-4-2, 8) and Hozumi Hasegawa (33-4, 15). Any of those 4 men could very easily get a world title fight over the next 12 months with one champion or another. None would be favoured against Rigondeaux but all would make very an interesting bout with Quigg, and they could prove difficult for either Leo Santa Cruz (the WBC champion) or Martinez.

Whilst this coming Saturday isn't a major day for boxing in Asia it is a day that could see several Asian fighters looking at possible future opponents with 3 world title fights taking place, all of which are in divisions where Asian fighters are highly ranked.

For Japanese fans in particular, the bout to be give attention to is in Britain where Stuart Hall (15-2-1, 7) battles former Hozumi Hasegawa opponent Vusi Malinga (21-4-1, 12) for the vacant IBF Bantamweight title. Although the winner of this bout is expected to face former champion Jamie McDonnell (23-2-1, 10) next there are several Japanese fighters with good IBF rankings.

Whilst McDonnell (#3) with the IBF is the favourite to face the winner it's fair to say that
Kohei Oba (35-2-1, 14), the IBF #6 ranked fighter, and Ryusoke Iwasa (16-1, 10), the IBF #12 ranked fighter would both be looking at the IBF title as a possibility. Neither would be favoured against WBC champion Shinsuke Yamanaka, at best Iwasa would be seen as a 50-50 chances with WBO champion Tomoki Kameda and neither would be fancied against WBA "super" champion Anselmo Moreno. The IBF belt might be their easiest route to a world title.

Staying with Japanese fans they'll almost certainly have an indirect interesting in what goes on in Spain as IBF Super Bantamweight champion Kiko Martinez (29-4, 21) takes on South African Jeffrey Mathebula (27-4-2, 14). This is Martinez's first defense and it's expected that the winner of this will be defending against Britain's Carl Frampton (17-0, 12) in 2014. Despite the fact Frampton is the first in the queue it still one of the easiest titles at 122lbs to win due to the fact that the other champions include Leo Santa Cruz and the excellent Guillermo Rigondeaux.

The winner will be almost certainly be on the radar of both Hidenori Otake (21-3-1, 9), the IBF #6 ranked fighter, and Yasutaka Ishimoto (23-6, 6), the IBF #9 ranked fighter, who will see the winner here as one of their best chances to take a world title at Super Bantamweight.

Whilst the Bantamweight and Super Bantamweight title fights are mostly going to get the attention of Japanese fans the final major contest will be one that should get the attention of Thai fans and Filipino's as well as Japanese ones. This bout, in Argentina, sees WBO Super Flyweight super champion Omar Andres Narvaez (40-1-2, 21) defending his title against David Carmona (16-1-4, 8).

From the Thai point of view Narvaez is the only man in the division who could be seen as a better fighter than WBC champion Srisaket Sor Rungvisai. We don't expect to see a WBC/WBO unification but that is certainly a bout that we'd love. As well as Srisaket other Thai's who may want to keep an eye on this bout are Suriyan Sor Rungvisai (31-5-1, 13), the WBO #7 ranked fighter, Oleydong Sithsamerchai (51-1-1, 17), the #10 ranked fighter, Denkaosan Kaovichit (62-3-1, 26), the #12 WBO fighter, Tepparith Kokietgym (24-3, 14) the #14 ranked fighter and Noknoi Sitthiprasert (46-4, 27) the #15th ranked fighter.
 
For Filipino fans the bout holds interest as Arthur Villanueva (24-0, 14), the #3 ranked fighter, and Mark Anthony Geraldo (29-4-3, 13), the #4 ranked fighter, could both be viewing up the winner as their next opponent. Neither would be favoured against Narvaez but both have the ability to really test him.

As for Japanese fighters both Koki Kameda (32-1, 17), the #2 ranked fighter, and Teiru Kinoshita (19-0-1, 3), #13. For Koki it would make sense to make the most of his high ranking and hope that the WBO will have a vacant WBO title due to the "super" status of Narvaez. With Koki looking for a 4th divisional title this bout really does make a lot of sense for him to be keeping an eye on.

With 9 of the top 15 WBO ranked Super Flyweights being from the Orient this bout really should be one that has the eye of every Asian boxing fan out there this coming Saturday.