We've had a relatively quiet month or so though thankfully it does end with a flurry of notable bouts.
On paper the two stand out bouts are set to take place in California and feature 4 Mexican fighters in bouts that both promise a lot of action. The “lesser” of those bouts will see Hugo Ruiz (35-2, 31) take on Julio Ceja (29-1, 26) in a bout for the WBC “interim” Super Bantamweight title. Of the two men Ruiz is the more experienced and the more tested, having had a run as the WBA “interim” Bantamweight champion and having fought several notable fighters, including Koki Kameda. Ceja on the other hand is a fast rising youngster who, at just 22, appears to have been around for years. For many Ceja's stand out bout was a loss, in the UK, to Jamie McDonnell though he has improved since then. This looks like it's got the ingredients to be a FOTY contender. The “bigger” bout sees the unbeaten Leo Santa Cruz (30-0-1, 17) battle against the once beaten Abner Mares (29-1-1, 15) in a bout for the WBC “Diamond” Featherweight title. Cruz is stepping up to 126lbs for this bout though should fill in to the weight comfortably given his frame. For Mares this is the first significant bout since he was stopped, in just 175 seconds by Jhonny Gonzalez more than 2 years ago. Sadly this fight, which looked like an amazing one 30 months ago, now seems likely to fall short of expectation with both fighters looking poor in recent bouts. A couple of notable under-card bouts here will feature fast rising Argentinian brothers Brian Carlos Castano (9-0, 8), who faces Jonathan Batista (14-6, 7), and Alan Emmanuel Castano (8-0, 5), who faces Tom Howard (8-4, 4). Whilst both of these are mismatches we do suggest keeping an eye on both of the unbeaten men who will likely go to title level over the coming years. Staying in California, albeit on a different show, fans will get two notable bouts. The headliner here will be a rematch between former multi-weight world champions as Shane Mosley (47-9-1-1, 39) battles Ricardo Mayorga (31-8-1-1, 25). Given that the men have a combined age of 84 and have rally failed to score a win of note in years this really resembles a farcical cash grab. The other bout of note is a female world title bout as Yulihan Alejandra Luna Avila (12-2, 1) defends her IBF female Super Bantamweight title against Maureen Shea (24-2, 12). We'd really not be shocked by this one outshining the supposedly bigger bout, at least in terms of action. The remaining action of note comes from Ukraine where two talented fighters have caught out eye. One of those is Cruiserweight sensation Oleksandr Usyk (7-0, 7), who looks to extend his perfect record against Johnny Muller (19-4-2, 13). Usyk looks almost ready to challenge for a world title and we'd not be shocked at all if his next bout is for a major belt. For Muller he's been picked to be the next victim and we can't see him doing anything to really trouble the 2012 Olympic gold medal winner. The other is Denys Berinchyk (0-0) who makes his long awaited professional debut against Tarik Madni (19-8-1, 1). On paper it's a tricky debut for Berinchyk but given his amateur pedigree it's hard to see anything but a a win for the 2012 Olympic, and 2011 World Amateur, Silver medal winner. With out trying to sound too over-the-top this kid has the potential to be moved very quickly as an amateur and it'd be a huge surprise if he's not looking at world title fights in the next 24 months.
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This Saturday much of the action us in the US where there are 4 bouts of note, there will also be interesting action in Europe with a couple of contests. Of those US bouts two will be taking place in California with the biggest of those being a compelling Light Heavyweight contest between Julio Cesar Chavez Jr (48-1-1-1, 32) and former US based Pole Andrzej Fonfara (26-3-0-1, 15). This bout has been over-looked by many fans who have looked towards other contests for this weekend but this one looks like it could, potentially, be the most interesting bout of the weekend. On the came card in California we'll also see WBA interim Super Bantamweight champion Oscar Escandon (24-1, 16) battle against Moises Flores (22-0-0-1, 16). Escandon is the luckiest “champion” in the sport and his win over Tyson Cave last year was probably the US robbery of the year. With that said however Flores is the man stepping up and could well find himself falling short. In New York we get one of the most mouth watering bouts of the year so far as the hard hitting Lucas Martin Matthysse (36-3, 34) meets fellow puncher Ruslan Provodnikov (24-3, 17) in a contest that appears to be a nailed on war. We really can't see anything but an all out slugfest here in a bout that really has all the ingredients of a FOTY contender. Notably there isn't a world title on the line going into this bout but the winner will certainly be in the mix for a title bout in their next contest, lets just hope that there is enough left of the winner to really compete in a title bout. Staying in the US fans in Texas will get the chance to see the very talented Terence Crawford (25-0, 17) take on the once beaten Thomas Dulorme (22-1, 14) in a bout for the WBO Light Welterweight title. Crawford was the standout American fighter in 2014 and will be hoping to have a similarly impressive 2015 with this bout being his first of the year. As for Dulorme this is a great opportunity to claim a world title, though the once hotly tipped fighter will need a career best performance to over-come Crawford. British fans get an interesting Lightweight match up as the popular and exciting Derry Matthews (37-9-2, 20) takes on hard working Canadian Tony Luis (19-2 7) in what looks to be a solid bout for the WBA interim title. The bout has been put together on about a weeks notice after Frank Warren, the promoter of Matthews, saw two other foes fall out. Originally Matthews was supposed to fight WBA champion Richar Abril though Abril pulled out at late note and was replaced by Israel Barroso, he himself failed to get a visa allowing Luis to get the bout. Although it was put together in a haste it should be a very good fight and Luis was in preparations for a different bout, suggesting he will be in good shape when the men get in the ring together. In Ukraine we'll see the sensational Oleksandr Usyk (6-0, 6) attempt to continue his rise through the ranks as he takes on the once beaten Andrey Knyazev (11-1, 6). On paper this is a step backwards for the unbeaten fighter however Usyk is one of the fights on an incredibly steep trajectory and it seems clear that he's only a fight or two away from a major title fight, possible by the end of this year. This past Saturday may not have been one of the best weekends in the sport this year but it was certainly still an interesting one with a number of notable fighters in action, ranging from champions to former champions, prospects to men looking to save their careers. The first notable action was in Europe as Olympic champion and Cruiserweight sensation Oleksandr Usyk (7-0, 7) kept alive his chase to win a world title in double quick fashion. Usyk claimed the WBO Inter-Continental Cruiserweight title as he stopped the much more experienced Daniel Bruwer (24-6-1, 21) in 7 rounds. Although we know Usyk is on the fast track to a world title he is still amazingly impressive and there is little doubt that he can compete with anyone in the division already. Although some were disappointed with Usyk taking his time it seemed clear to us that he wanted some rounds under his belt before moving towards a world title bout. On the same card fans also saw former world champion Andriy Kotelnik (32-4-1, 13) take an 8 round decision over Alexander Benidze (13-15-2, 6). Although not a major bout it was Kotelnik's first contest in over 4 years and we were big fans of him when he was an active fighter. Another former world champion who picked up a win in an 8 rounder was Britain's Ricky Burns (37-4-1, 11) who beat Alexandre Lepelley (17-2-1, 3) in what was his first win since losing his WBO Lightweight title to Terence Crawford earlier this year. Although Burns failed to shine we were very impressed by Josh Warrington (19-0, 3) who claimed the European Featherweight title with a fantastic performance against Italian veteran Davide Dieli (15-4, 5). Warrington stopped Dieli in 4 rounds to record his 3rd stoppage in 4 bouts and it seems perfectly clear that he is finding his "man strength". Whilst Burns and Kotelnik both kept their careers alive with wins it wasn't a great day for former world champions in American and Mexico. In the US fans saw former Light Heavyweight kingpin Chad Dawson (32-4-0-1-1, 18) suffer a huge shock loss to Tommy Karpency (24-4-1, 14). Dawson, who has now won just 1 of his last 4, must be considering his future. This was a close loss but he's not the fighter he once was, in fact he's not even close to being the fighter he used to be. Dawson's loss was on the same card an a solid bout between Vanes Martirosyan (35-1-1, 21) and Willie Nelson (23-2-1, 13). What made the bout enjoyable was the fact Nelson did almost nothing a boxer should do. Nelsons' flaws were exploited time and time again by Martirosyan who looked far from special himself. It was a strange but engaging bout between two fringe contenders in the Light Middleweight division, though neither look like they are real world class. The main event on the US card was a real dud as IBF Super Featherweight champion Rances Barthelemy (21-0-0-1, 12) took a clear but dull victory over the light punching Fernando David Saucedo (52-6-3, 8). The bout was a world title fight and whilst Barthelemy is world class he's also very dull to watch when he can't impose himself early. We wish that Barthelmy had been in with someone with some power and bite though we suspect he'll be doing what he can to avoid a real fight as opposed to fighting a feather fisted but tough survivor like Saucedo. Another world title bout took place in Mexico as WBC Featherweight champion Jhonny Gonzalez (57-8, 48) stopped Jorge Arce (64-8-2, 49) in a disgusting mismatch that really left no one looking good. Arce looked like an old an broken man whilst Gonzalez looked like someone who should have been fighting a much better better opponent. It really was disgusting that the WBC allowed this one. On the same card in Mexico we saw Adrian Estrella (19-0, 17) boost his growing reputation as he took a dominant win over former world champion Celestino Caballero (37-6, 24). Caballero was dropped hard several times as Estrella strolled to a dominant decision. Caballero did well to see out the distance but was never really in the bout and it would seem plausible for Estrella to be put in line to fight the winner of the upcoming WBC Super Featherweight title fight between Takashi Miura and Edgar Puerta, a bout that will take place in November. (Image courtesy of Notifight.com) October 4th-Barthelmy and Gonzalez go into title defenses whilst Caballero fights for career10/2/2014 It appears after a few slow weeks of fights that we are now set to get things kick started once again and this coming Saturday is a great example of what we have to look forward to through the coming month, a month that genuine looks to be an amazing one. One of this weekend's upcoming bouts attempts to take out one of the contenders from the Super Featherweight division as unbeaten IBF champion Rances Barthelemy (20-0-0-1, 12) attempts to defend his title for the first time. The Cuban "Kid Blast" may have had to win two fights to win the belt, follow a controversial ending to the first contest, but now seems set to make up for lost time and will be taking on the highly regarded and very experienced Fernando David Saucedo (52-5-3, 8). We'll admit we did hope that it would be Barthelmy against Michael Farenas, though this bout isn't a terrible even if the winner is a very predictable one. Saucedo isn't a bad fighter but he doesn't have the tools to bother Barthelemy who should be too rangy, too fast and too power for the challenger. Hopefully Farenas will get the winner of this one in early 2015. A second world title bout takes place in Mexico as WBC Featherweight champion Jhonny Gonzalez (56-8, 47) defends his belt against legendary warrior Jorge Arce (64-7-2-1, 49). It's almost 2 years ago that Arce was battered, beaten and destroyed by Filipino star Nonito Donaire and to think that Arce has managed to get another world title bout says more about his name, especially with the WBC, than his performances since. At his peak Arce was one of the sports great action men and his wars will long live with fans whether they remember him losing to Michael Carbajal or defeating Wilfredo Vazquez Jr. Sadly Arce's peak was years ago and he's now a shadow of what he once was. Gonzalez, who famously stopped Hozumi Hasegawa, may not be a truly sensational boxer but he's as heavy handed as they come and shouldn't need long to finish off Arce's dreams and career. At least we hope it'll end Arce's career that probably should have ended several years ago. On the show as the Gonzalez/Arce bout is a possible "breaking out" bout for the unbeaten and very heavy handed Adrian Estrella (18-0, 17). Estrella is seen as one of Mexico's most promising young prospects and he'll be hoping to announce himself on the world stage as he battles against former world champion Celestino Caballero (37-5, 24) in a battle for the WBC FECARBOX Super Featherweight title. The bout is an incredibly significant one and winner here will move incredibly close to a WBC world title shot with Takashi Miura whilst the loser could well find themselves tossed on the boxing scrap heap. For Caballero this is a must win bout, a loss here and his career is effectively over. One other bout we want to make a note of is in Ukraine where the fast rising Oleksandr Usyk (4-0, 4) battles against Daniel Bruwer (24-5, 21) in a bout for the interim WBO Inter-Continental Cruiserweight title. A win here would shoot Usyk in to the WBO world rankings and his dream of setting a Cruiserweight record fro fewest fights to become a world champion would become a clear possibility. The Ukrainian looks like a sensational fighter and we'd tip him to easily claim a Cruiserweight world title and he shouldn't struggle with Bruwer here. (Image courtesy of our friends at www.notifight.com) This past weekend wasn't just a busy one in Asia but also a very, very busy on around the boxing world with numerous fights taking place around the planet. For many fans the biggest fight, outside of Macau, took place in the UK as the much talked about rematch between unified Super Middleweight champion Carl Froch (33-2, 24) and compatriot George Groves (19-2, 15) took place. The men, who first fought last November, seemed tentative of the other's power early on but the first slowly came alive in the middle rounds, that was until Froch killed the bout with a vicious and destructive right hand that sent Groves down hard. The challenger, who had talked the talk, failed to recover though in fairness the shot would have stopped anyone in the division. A second world title fight on this show saw Jamie McDonnell (24-2-1, 11) over-come Thailand's Tabtimdaeng Na Rachawat (52-3, 34) in what was one of the most action packed fights of the evening. On the same card in the UK fans also got to see several other notable bouts. These included another Super Middleweight bout which saw Olympic champion James DeGale (19-1, 13) stopping American Brandon Gonzales (18-1-1, 10) in what was sold an IBF Super Middleweight title eliminator. In theory this makes DeGale the mandatory challenger to Carl Froch though we've got doubts that that bout will be taking place any time soon, if ever. Another Olympic champion, Anthony Joshua (6-0, 6), was als on the show as he stopped Matt Legg (7-3, 2) inside a round. Also on this British card was a was a victory for former 2-time world title challenger Kevin Mitchell (37-3, 28) who scored a come-from-behind stoppage of of the previously unbeaten Ghislain Maduma (16-1, 10). Mitchell, who was down going into round 11, managed to twice drop Maduma who was out on his feet when the stoppage came. It wasn't just the UK that featured a notable rematch as Germany also featured one. This time it was between Felix Sturm (39-4-2-1, 18) and Sam Soliman (43-11-0-1, 18). This bout, fought for the IBF Middleweight title, saw Sturm thoroughly out worked as Soliman became a world champion for the first time in his long and often over-looked career. For Sturm this was a disappointing way to lose his title considering the blistering performance that saw him winning the belt against Darren Barker, looking back however that victory appears to have been a misleading one with Barker losing due to a recurring injury that has now cost him his career. On the same card in Germany local fans got to see the very talented Susi Kentikian (33-2-0-1 17) defend her WBA female Flyweight title with a stunning performance against South Korean Dan-Bi Kim (9-3-1, 2). On the undercard of Srisaket Sor Rungvisai's (27-4-1, 25) disappointing contest with Mexico's Carlos Cuadras (30-0, 24) there other bouts of note. One of these saw WBC #1 contender at Light Flyweight Pedro Guevara (22-1-1, 14) take a decision over Armando Torres (19-12, 13). Guevara, the top contender for Naoya Inoue, successfully defended his Silver title with this victory and will be hoping to challenge Inoue later this year or, if Inoue remains at 108lbs, early next year. Anthony Joshua and James DeGale weren't the only Olympic champions in action and in Ukraine we had another, in fact we had arguably the pick of the bunch in the form of Oleksandr Usyk (4-0, 4) who made very light work of Argentinian veteran Cesar David Crenz (21-9, 13). Usyk, who looks like a murderous fighter in the ring, spent a round quietly scouting Crenz before slowly going through the gears and stopping Crenz with a brutal body shot. We also had bouts in the US. Amongst those was a victory for the talented, and quickly maturing Henry Lundy (25-3-1, 12) who scored a stay busy victory over the over-matched Gerardo Cuevas (17-12, 15). The bout, which ended via a 2nd round KO for Lundy, was a pointless bout in terms of competitive nature but we can't help but think that keeping Lundy active is a great by his team who probably know that he's a fighter who can be frustrating if he gets bored either in, or out, of the ring. Also in the US there was a victory for two possible challengers for Asian title holders. One of those men was Javier Fortuna (25-0-1-1, 18) who out pointed Juan Antonio Rodriguez (25-5, 23) and could well be moved into position for a bout with Takashi Uchiyama later this year or Takashi Miura. The other man was Sergio Mora (26-3-2, 9) who scored a rare stoppage as he defeated Samuel Rogers (14-2, 8) and moved one step closer to a possible encounter with Gennady Golovkin. (Image courtesy of http://www.bestboxingblog.com) This coming weekend might be a huge one for Asian boxing but it's not just boxers from Asia in major fights and we actually get other notable fights in both the UK and in Germany as the sport really goes into an over-drive for a weekend. The biggest fight, for most, is in the UK as unified Super Middleweight champion Carl Froch (32-2, 23) defends his IBF and WBA titles against compatriot George Groves (19-1, 15). The bout has been hyped to the hilt in the UK courtesy of Sky Sports and we're expecting it to be a great bout, just like their first contest was last November before Groves was controversially stopped by referee Howard Foster. Unfortunately whilst the bout is likely to be great we've got to admit the build up has made us dislike both fighters and we sort of want both men to knock the other out. On the same card in the UK we get former 2-time world title challenger Kevin Mitchell (37-2, 27) fighting against the unbeaten Ghislain Maduma (16-0, 10) in an IBF Lightweight title eliminator. This looks like a great fight and should tell us a lot about both men. Another, equally as interesting bout on this card, sees Olympic gold medal winner James DeGale (18-1, 12) fighting against the unbeaten Brandon Gonzales (18-0-1, 10) in what looks to be effectively a Super Middleweight title eliminator to face the winner of the Froch/Groves bout. The London card not only has the 3 bouts mentioned above but also hosts the WBA Bantamweight title fight between Tabtimdaeng Na Rachawat and Jamie McDonnell as well as the the next bout for Olympic Super Havyweight gold medal winner Anthony Joshua (5-0, 5) as he takes on the massive under-dog Matt Legg (7-2, 3) in what is widely seen as a total mismatch. Talking about Olympic champions there is actually a third in action as Ukrainian sensation Oleksandr Usyk (3-0, 3) takes a huge step up to battle against experienced Argentinian Cesar David Crenz (21-8, 13) in what should be a good test to see if Usyk is as good as hyped. If Usyk blasts through Crenz then there will be little need to hold him at this level any longer and he might as well be looking at world ranked opponents later this year. The Froch/Groves bout isn't the only rematch as IBF Middleweight champion Felix Sturm (29-3-2-1, 18) faces Australian Sam Soliman (44-11-0-1, 18) for the second time. In their first meeting the tricky Soliman took a unanimous decision before testing positive for a stimulant. At the time it seemed that that was to be the end of Sturm's often forgettable career but instead it ignited a new found fire in the German who has stopped his last 2 opponents including Britain's Darren Barker. The once technically skilled but safety concious Sturm appears to have a new found viciousness to him and this should see him past Soliman here. In Mexico, where our interest lies with the thrilling bout between Srisaket Sor Rungvisai and Carlos Cuadras, Mexican fans will get the chance to see a brilliant contest between the very highly regarded Light Flyweight Pedro Guevara (21-1-1, 14) and the decent, though not great, Armando Torres (19-11, 13). This bout, for the WBC Silver title, will see Guevara hoping to maintain his status as one of the top challengers for Naoya Inoue's title and a bout between Inoue and Guevara in September would be the perfect way for the "Monster" to wave good buy to the Light Flyweight division. Staying in Mexico fans will also get to see Gamaliel Diaz (37-11-2, 17) in action as he takes on Hugo Morales (11-10, 2). Diaz, best known by Japanese fans who remember hi beating Takahiro Ao and being stopped by Takashi Miura, will be expecting an easy win here though he does come in to the bout after back-to-back losses following his victory over Ao more than 18 months ago. In the US fans get a small but interesting show which features an important bout in the Super Featherweight division as Javier Fortuna (24-0-1-1, 18) takes on Juan Antonio Rodriguez (26-4, 23). Fortuna is said to be in line for a possible bout with Takashi Uchiyama though will likely need to get past Bryan Vasquez as well ad Rodriguez to get that fight. On the same US card there is a very interesting Middleweight bout which sees former world title holder Sergio Mora (25-3-2, 8) taking on the once beaten Samuel Rogers (14-1, 8). Mora has spoken about a possible clash with Gennady Golovkin and whilst it's not an awful bout it will need Mora to keep winning and trying to make himself more attractive to TV executives. Unfortunately for Mora his style is very much an off putting one and he will have to find something new to make himself more fun to watch. (Image courtesy of Sky Sports) Klitscho wins, Thurman shines, Figueroa lucky, Matthysse in a war and Bopp wins in a busy day!4/28/2014 Last week was one of the busiest in boxing this year. We had the title fights on Wednesday as Hozumi Hasegawa took on Kiko Martinez and Shinsuke Yamanaka fought Stephane Jamoye, we then saw the unexpected failed drug test of Denis Lebedev and all that was before Saturday! On Saturday things went up a gear, we didn't just get fights but we got a maelstrom of fights across all the levels of the sport, and they gave us a bit of everything. Excitement, controversial, action and pain. The first of the major fights was in Germany as Wladimir Klitschko (62-3, 52), the Heavyweight king and by far the most dominant fighter in is division, retained his collection of titles with an impressive display. Klitschko was fighting against the WBO mandatory challenger Alex Leapai (30-5-3, 24) but made Leapai look like a man off the street. The champion landed jabs, straights, hooks and even the occasional uppercut as he systematically dismantled the challenger with ease. Klitschko is often slated for his holding and hugging but there was little of that as his footwork and offensive shot selection created all the distance he needed to dominate. On the same card in Germany there were good wins for Joseph Parker (8-0, 7) and Oleksandr Usyk (3-0, 3) who both scored stoppages and continued rolling on in their promising and very exciting careers. Although neither man has 10 fights they do, genuinely, look likely to be top contenders in the next year or two. Usyk could probably go for a Cruiserweight title in his next 5 fights if he wished, he really is that good. For Parker the developmental process will be longer but he's a baby in the Heavyweight division. Talking about Heavyweights the exciting Lucas Browne (20-0, 18) claimed the Commonwealth title stopping Canada's Eric Martel Bahoeli (10-4, 7) in 5 rounds in the UK. This was an exciting fight with Browne throwing caution to the wind after being cut by a clash of heads. The big Aussie is one of the most fun to watch Heavyweights when he lets his hands go and although he wasn't in great shape he showed his power in a great overall display. As with the action in Germany the Heavyweight bout in the UK shared a show with some big punchers, including Kirill Relikh (16-0, 14) and Adam Etches (16-0, 13) who both recorded early victories, as did the the new European Bantamweight champion Zhanat Zhakiyanov (22-1, 15) who scored a career best result. Whilst there was action in Europe the big talking points were all about the US where we had a trio of interesting bouts. The first of that trio was a WBC Lightweight title fight between defending champion Omar Figueroa (23-0-1, 17) and former amateur rival Jerry Belmontes (19-4, 5). Figueroa was involved in a sensational bout with Nihito Arakawa last year though here he looked lack lustre, flat and basic as Belmontes out boxed him. Despite looking like the loser Figueroa managed to retain his title thanks to a frankly ridiculous scorecard of 118-110 turned in by David Mendoza who certainly needs an eye test. If Figueroa/Belmontes left a bad taste in the mouth it was quickly forgotten as we got a thrilling contest between Lucas Martin Matthysse (35-3, 33) and John Molina (27-4, 22). Matthysse was dropped twice, once in each of rounds 2 and 5, before coming back, going through the gears and soundly beating up Molina who given a seriously nasty battering in round 10 before being stopped the following round in a FOTY candidate. The one bout that went exactly as expected on this US card saw WBA "interim" Welterweight champion Keith Thurman (23-0-0-1, 21) stop former Lightweight world champion Julio Diaz (40-10-1, 29). Diaz was forced to retire at the end of round 3 with a rib injury. Although some are tipping Thurman as the man to defeat Floyd Mayweather Jr we can't help but feel he is very unproven considering the hype he is getting. He's talented but no where near the natural talent of Mayweather. The final international bout of note for us was in Argentina as Argentinian female superstar Yesica Yolanda Bopp (27-1, 12) claimed the WBO female Flyweight title with an excellent victory over compatriot Daniela Romina Bermudez (16-3-2, 5). The fight saw both fighters changing weights from where they usually fight with Bopp going up a division and Bermudez coming down a division. Unfortunately for Bermudez she was unable to use her natural size advantage and instead Bopp's skills and speed were the difference as Bermudez was widely beaten in the end, despite putting up a good effort. This was a case of a very good big fighter fighting a great smaller fighter and the smaller fighter being a that bit too good. (Photo thanks to Sumio Yamada) This coming Saturday is a major day in the boxing world and ends one of the most interesting weeks this year. The bigger fights, which take place around the world, are nothing short of major bouts and are really, really exciting. The biggest fight of the day is in Germany as Heavyweight kingpin Wladimir Klitschko (61-3, 51) defends his WBO, WBA "super" and IBF titles against WBO mandatory challenger Alex Leapai (30-4-3, 24). Many have written Leapai off though with his power he does have a punchers chance against Klitschko, as long as he catches clean. Admittedly it's rare for Klitschko to be caught but there is always that chance. For those complaining about Leapai getting this chance it's worth noting he did earn the chance having beaten Denis Boytsov last time out. On the same card there is a second notable Heavyweight bout as the promising and unbeaten Joseph Parker (7-0, 6) takes on late replacement Marcelo Luiz Nascimento (17-3, 15) who has taken the place of Sherman Williams who has had a big falling out with the promoter of the show. A third interesting bout on this card sees Klitschko's compatriot, and 2012 Olympic gold medal winner, Oleksandr Usyk (2-0, 2) in action against the tough Ben Nsafoah (15-9-2, 8). In the UK we get a third interesting Heavyweight contest as the hard hitting and very likeable Lucas Browne (19-0, 17) takes on Canada's Eric Martel Bahoeli (10-3, 7) in an excellent looking Commonwealth title fight. We like Browne and although we know he's limited he's always going to be a lot of fun. Talking about fun to watch fighters the same British show will feature Adam Etches (15-0, 12), who will be fighting Felipe De la Paz Teniente (12-1, 6), and Kirill Relikh (15-0, 13), who battles Ty Gilchrist (6-3-1, 2), who are also very fun to watch, heavy handed and aggressive minded fighters. Staying on the subject of fun to watch fighters the audiences watching Showtime get a number of fun to watch fighters in action. One of those will be Lucas Martin Matthysse (34-3, 32) who battles John Molina (27-3, 22). On paper this looks fun though in reality it's likely to be a mismatch and it's hard to see anything but a steam roller job by Matthysse who will be looking to leave an impact on his return to the ring after losing to Danny Garcia last time out. Another of those will be Omar Figueroa (22-0-1, 17) who will defending his WBC Lightweight title against former amateur foe Jerry Belmontes (19-3, 5). Figueroa is returning to the ring for the first time since damaging his hands on the head of Nihitio Arakawa in one of the 2013 FOTY contenders, he'll be hoping to have fully recovered as he's facing a man who beat him in the unpaid ranks. A third, world class, fighter on this card is Keith Thurman (22-0-0-1, 20). Thurman is the WBA "interim" Welterweight champion and is viewed by some as the heir apparent to Floyd Mayweather Jr, we'd disagree with that but he has a great chance to shine against former 2-time IBF Lightweight champion Julio Diaz (40-9-1, 29). This should be an easy KO win for Thurman if he's as good as speculated by the US media and fans. One more man of note on this US card is Antonio Orozco (19-0, 15) who we absolutely love watching. Orozco should, like the other exciting fighters on this card, pick up an easy stoppage as he takes on the much smaller Martin Honorio (32-8-1, 16). Honorio is a former world title challenger and is a world class Super Featherweight but Orozco is more of a Light Welterweight. In Argentina we have a very special looking female bout as Yesica Yolanda Bopp (26-1, 12) battled fellow Argentinian world champion Daniela Romina Bermudez (16-2-2, 5). The bout is a little bit weird as Bopp, the WBO Light Flyweight champion, is stepping up to 112lbs whilst Bermudez, who holds a title at Super Flyweight is stepping down. For all intents and purposes this is a bout fought at a catchweight of 112lbs, the Flyweight limit, with the vacant WBO Flyweight title on the line. Very interesting bout and one we've been told is "must watch". This will be the second time the two have met and the first time around Bopp took a very hard fought decision, with that in mind it's a true 50-50 bout in our eyes. (Image courtesy of http://www.klitschko.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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