May 31st-Froch Vs Groves II steals headlines but it's not all the day has to offer

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)

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