This coming Saturday is a great day for American fans who get a wonderful choice of events with two exciting looking cards going head to head. On Showtime we get a really interesting triple header headlined by a WBC Silver Welterweight title fight between Britain's Amir Khan (29-3, 19), the defending champion, and Devon Alexander (26-2, 14). Both men are former world champions and both know that a win here could well help them move towards a massive payday against Floyd Mayweather. Khan is the betting favourite but to us this is as close to a 50-50 match up as you'll find and it's great to see the two finally getting it on, several years after they should have fought. In one of the support bouts on this card fans will see the much touted and heavy handed Keith Thurman (23-0-0-1, 21) defending the WBA interim Welterweight title against Leonard Bundu (31-0-2, 11). Like the main event this appears to be a great bout though Thurman is the clear favourite given his edge in youth and power. The third part of this card will see Jermell Charlo (19-0, 15) fighting against Lenny Bottai (22-2, 9) in an IBF Light Middleweight title eliminator, with the winner moving towards a shot with Cornelius Bundrage. Sadly this is much weaker than the other two bouts and Bottai really should be brushed aside with ease by the talented Charlo. The other show is headlined by a non-title bout between former 2-weight world champion Timothy Bradley (31-1-0-1, 12) and Argentinian brawler Diego Gabriel Chavez (23-2, 19). This is expected to be a thrilling contest and a real brawl which could potentially be a FOTY contender though could well be a disappointing bout if Bradley ends up relying solely on his superior skills. Another great bout on this card will see WBA interim Light Welterweight champion Mauricio Herrera (21-4, 7) defending his belt against the unbeaten and much touted Jose Benavidez (21-0, 15). This is a real test for Benavidez who was tipped as a future star though has yet to show those magical touches against a decent level of foe. Sadly with the two shows clashing fans will need to make a choice one way or another, though both do look like great cards. (Image courtesy of http://roundbyroundboxing.com)
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This past Friday was a somewhat interesting day of fights in the "sub" world level with several very intriguing contests. The first of the bouts of note took place in the UK as unbeaten Heavyweight collided. The bout on paper looked great as the heavy handed and very affable Lucas Browne (21-0, 18) battled against the very capable Romanian Andriy Rudenko (24-1, 16). Sadly the bout ended up looking more like a mauling contest than a boxing contest and although both men took some heavy leather, and marked up notably, it never really caught fire for any sustained time. As well as the messy mauling action the fight also saw some very poor scorecards which may well have left a poor taste in the mouth of Rudenko. On the same British card there was another all-unbeaten bout as Leonard Bundu (31-0-2, 11) successfully defended his European Welterweight title with a very good win over Britain's Frankie Gavin (19-1, 12). Gavin had gone in to the bout as a big favourite and was being tipped for stardom from when he turned professional more than 5 years ago sadly however he failed to live up to his potential and although this was only a split decision win for Bundu he was a well deserving winner. We dare suggest that Gavin has been let down by his team who haven't helped develop his skills or turn him into a "proper professional" and have instead made excuse for poor performances rather than made him feel responsible for them. In the USA we saw the return to the ring of the talented but frustrating Andre Dirrell (22-1, 15) who easily over-came Vladine Biosse (15-5-2, 7). Dirrell, fighting for the first time in 18 months, looked sharp from the off and on this performance he's a handful for anyone at 168lbs though of course the question is always "how will Dirrell do when the going gets tough?" Interestingly the American called out Carl Froch, the only man to beat him as a professional and that's a bout that could be interesting if Dirrell can get some big money on the table. In the main event in the US former world champion Gabriel Campillo (24-6-1, 11) stopped the highly touted Thomas Williams Jr (17-1, 12). Early on it looked like Williams was in control but Campillo made the most of his experience and eventually cut Williams who seemed to mentally crack after being cut. Soon after the injury Williams was stopped on the advice of the doctor, though it appeared his team wanted the doctor to stop the bout and made no protest to the stoppage like a fighters team usually would, especially considering the fact the cut wasn't a serious one. Many are describing this as a major upset, though in all honesty it was just proof that Campillo isn't a done fighter as many are suggesting and whilst he's not likely to beat any of the top champions he is very capable at the level below world class. (Image courtesy of http://www.boxeomundial.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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