 This coming weekend we'll likely see the end of one of the most personal rivalries in modern day boxing, as Mexican star Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (57-2-2, 39) and Kazakh icon Gennadiy Golovkin (42-1-1, 37) meet in their third, and likely final, bout. Like the previous two the bout is expected to be a thriller between two incredibly talented, well rounded fighters, with different styles, but the same hunger to prove themselves and the same desire to take home the win over their greatest nemesis.
The two men, who's careers will always be linked, first fought in September 2017, with Golovkin holding 3 of the 4 major world titles. That bout saw the men fight to a much disputed draw, with many feeling that Canelo had been protected from a loss by the judges, especially Adalaide Byrd who some how gave Golovkin just 2 rounds with an awful 118-110 card for Canelo. The two were scheduled to rematch the following May but a failed drugs test by Alvarez saw the bout being pushed back to September 2018 when Canelo controversially defeated Golovkin to claim the WBA and WBC Middleweigjt titles. Since that bout the two men went their separate ways, though it always seemed like a third was, ultimately, in their destiny. Since losing to Canelo we've seen Golovkin go 4-0 (3), he has looked like he has lost a gear, though still had enough to beat top competition in the form of Sergiy Derevyanchenko and Ryota Murata, and not just reclaim world honours at Middleweight but also unifying the IBF and WBA "super" titles. Canelo on the other hand has gone 7-1 (5). Along the way he claimed the WBO Light Heavyweight title and unified all 4 world titles at Super Middleweight, before losing last time out, at Super Middleweight, to Dmitriy Bivol. That loss was his first since 2013, when he lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr, and much like Mayweather Jr. For this bout, unlike the other two, the fight will take place at Super Middleweight. The move in weight could be an interesting factor. It's the weight class that has seen Canelo control in recent years, with notable wins over Callum Smith, Billy Joe Saunders and Caleb Plant, to secure all 4 titles, but also a weight that he will be dropping back down to, which is rarely an easy task. Likewise for Golovkin the bout will be his first at 168lbs, though he has had catch weight fights above 160lbs early in his career, and it will be very interesting to see what he looks like at the higher weight. In the ring not a lot needs saying about either man, afterall they have both been fighting at the top level for over a decade and we suspect everyone who follows the sport will have seen a lot of both men. Canbelo is a smooth punching, intelligent pressure fighter, with a good boxing brain, solid power and decent work rate. He isn't the quickest, the most powerful, or the strongest, but he's a smart fighter who has under-rated defense, excellent offense, and lovely combination punching, especially up close. At range he can look poor, and a fighter who keeps him chasing can make him look poor, but his pressure tends to get to fighters, sooner or later. As for Golovkin he's a defensively limited fighter, but someone who has rocks for hands, a very good work rate, a stunning chin, and can land brutal shots to head or body. Sadly Golovkin has slowed down, a lot, from the fighter he once was, and looked only a shadow of himself at times against Murata. Coming in to this we don't expect to see anything new from the men involved. Aged 40 isn't suddenly going to develop into a defensive master and at 32 Canelo, with 61 fights to his name, we don't expect to see anything new from Canelo either. Saying that we don't expect this fight to fully look like their previous two, which were instant classics. We, sadly, expect Golovkin to again look old. Especially early on, and that will work to Canelo's strength, with Alvarez being an excellent body puncher. It seemed that Murata hurt Golovkin with a body shot in their bout, and Alvarez might not have the single punch power of Murata, but places shots better, is a better combination puncher and is clearly quicker and sharper. With that in mind we expect to see Canelo going to the body early, landing there a lot in the first 3 or 4 rounds, and take gas out of Golovkin's tyres. Later on we expect to see Golovkin begin to show what he can do, but not have the intensity needed to make a major impact, before slowing down again as Canelo gets his second wind and does enough to earn a clear decision, if not a very late stoppage against a tired Golvokin. Although we do favour Canelo here, we do expect the move up in weight will be a good one for Golovkin, and perhaps something he should have done in 2019, following his loss to Canelo. We can't help but feel his frame would have suited the division well, and bouts against the likes of Callum Smith, Caleb Plant and Billy Joe Saunders would have been interesting for him at 168lbs. Prediction - UD12 Canelo
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For much of the last 6 years the Minimumweight division has been dominated by two Thai's, with wide spread calls for them to clash. At the time the pair were the WBA "super" champion Knockout CP Freshmart (23-0, 9) and WBC champion Wanheng Menayothin (55-2-0-1, 19), who were both unbeaten at the time and had styles that could have gelled to give us a classic. Sadly however those calls went unheeded, with the Thai promoter, Petchyindee, and corporate sponsors preferring to have two world champions they could market shows over, rather than a single unified champion. As a result the unification bout between, arguably, the two best fighters at 105lbs never came to be.
At least not when it most mattered. This coming Wednesday we will actually get the bout, though it's a bout that has lost some allure to what it once had. No longer is it two unbeaten world champions facing off. Instead it's only Knockout defending his world champion, as the twice beaten Wanehng lost the WBC title in late 2020, to fellow Thai Panya Pradabsri and also lost a rematch to Panya in 2021. Although both of those bouts were close they were both losses and saw a lot of the intrigue of Knockout Vs Wanheng dissipating as a result. Despite the allure dying down, sometimes it's better to get something late, than never at all and that is very much the feeling with this bout. The fight isn't as red hot as it was, but it's still one of the most interesting bouts that can be made at 105lbs. Of the two men it's the champion here that has more to lose than the challenger. The 31 year old Knockout has held some version of the WBA title, be it interim, regular of Super, since 2014 and has quietly built a solid, though unspectacular, resume for himself. His most notable wins are two decision victories over Carlos Buitrago, along with victories over Muhammad Rachman, Byron Rojas, Xiong Zhao Zhong and Robert Paradero. For a man who has been in and around the top of the sport as long as he has, the resume is thin. Despite that there is no doubting his ability and he's one of the more technically polished boxers at 105lbs, and someone who has clearly developed from a somewhat raw fighter, when he first faced Buitrago, to an accomplished boxer in more recent bouts. He has also been sitting on his shots more in recent contests, and although not a huge puncher, he has solid power at 105lbs, something he showed us last year against Robert Paradero. At his best Knockout is a very, very good all rounder. He doesn't blow anyone away in any particular area, but he's well schooled, he knows his way around the ring, has solid power, good timing and impressive physical strength for such a small man. He is somewhat under-whelming when it comes to out put and his style isn't the most fun, with Knockout often fighting to get his nose in the lead early on, before cruising through much of the bout to take a decision, but he's smart and uses his brain well. For fighters looking to beat him, work rate is key, and fighters who set a high tempo do cause him problems, as we saw in the first fight with Buitrago, as well as his 2019 bout with ArAr Andale, but standing off and trying to box with Knockout is very much playing to Knockout's strengths. In many ways a smart, intelligent pressure fighter, with solid rate and an ability to cut the ring off, does seem likely to be the style to beat him. A style several notable fighters in the division current have. As for Wanheng, the 36 year old was, for quite period of time, the best fighter at 105lbs and had a very impressive 54-0 (14) record. Not only that but he had a very impressive 12 world title defenses to his name and had notable wins against the likes of Florante Condes, Oswaldo Novoa, Tatsuya Fukuhara, Pedro Taduran, Melvin Jerusalem, Simpiwe Konkco and Saul Juarez. He resume wasn't screaming out as something stacked with big names, but it was a solid record, and it was highly impressive how he had stayed at one weight essentially his entire career, rather than picking and choosing his way to different titles. Sadly the two losses to Panya ended his incredibly unbeaten run, though both was questionable and they felt something akin to the the powers that be in Thailand passing the torch onto the next generation of top fighters in the division, rather than Wanheng actually being done at the top. Despite being 36 Wanheng is really incredible. He is a committed fighter, who has dedicated himself to one weight, and had been dedicated to his craft in the ring. He's never been the quickest, the biggest puncher or the man with the highest work rate. Instead he has been crafty, intelligent and fights with a style that combines intelligent pressure, great footwork and quick, sharp combinations that catch the eye. He's not the quickest fighter out there, but he cuts the ring down well on the front foot, he has a tight guard, and he gets where he wants to be to fire shots off. Although not heavy handed he is someone who hits harder than his record suggests, and certainly gets respect from fighters, in terms of both his combinations and his single shots, which do have some pop on them. Had this bout been when the two men were in their prime, we feel that Wanheng would have had the better of this. He would have been too accurate, to smart with his flurries, and able to dig deep late on to take a hard fought, hotly contest, but clear decision, an 8-4 or possible 9-3 type of decision. Likely after going behind early on. Now however it's a hard call. At Minimumweight 36 is ancient, and that could be a major issue for the former WBC champion. However we also wonder how easily Knockout makes weight, and whether his low work rate has had something to do with struggling to boil down to 105lbs in more recent years. If that's the case, Wanheng is not the man he wants to face. Instead Wanheng is a nightmare for him. The pressure from Wanheng, which doesn't always come with punches but, is draining to fight against and if that pressure can take the movement away from a 31 year old Knockout he will become something of a target for Wanheng's eye catching combinations in the later rounds. Knockout might well find himself being out-Knockout'd here by a smart, more experienced, more polished, and busier version of himself. We imagine Knockout will look to get a lead and keep it, only to see it slip away from him late on, with Wanheng's having an intensified late march to the title, and potentially retiring on top of the sport. Prediction - UD12 Wanheng  This coming Saturday in San Antonio, we'll see unified Super Bantamweight champion Murodjon Akhmadaliev (10-0, 7) defending his WBA "super" and IBF Super Bantamweight titles, as he takes on Ronny Rios (33-3, 16). The bout will be Akhmadaliev's third defense of the title he won in 2020, when he beat Danny Roman in a sensational bout, whilst it will also serve as the second world title shot for Rios, who came up short in 2017 against Rey Vargas in a competitive contest. It will also be a bout between two legitimate top 10 fighters at 122lbs, which is one of the most interesting division's in the sport right now, and is one that has the potential to be something very special.
Aged 27 Akhamdaliev has been moved through the ranks like very few others. He turned professional after an impressive amateur and was world ranked within a year of his professional debut. By late 2019 he was knocking on the door of a world title fight, and were it not for an injury to Danny Roman there's a good chance that "MJ" would have won a world title in September 2019. Instead he had to wait for Roman to recover, with the two men clashing in January 2020, with Akhmadlaiev taking a split decision, and the the unified IBA/WBA "super" titles. That was in just his 8th professional bout. Sadly Covid has stopped his rise to stardom, and since winning the titles he has fought just twice, beating the then IBF mandatory challenger Ryosuke Iwasa and beating late replacement Jose Velasquez, who replaced Rios for a bout late last year when Rios contracted Covid19. In the ring Akhmadaliev can pretty much do it all. At his best he's a patient, but aggressive, pressure-puncher. He's naturally heavy handed, puts his shots together well, picks his moments and applies mentally draining and consistent front foot pressure. When he needs to box he can, as we saw against Roman, he can also change the tempo of bouts, and it a very complete all rounder. At times he can fight the wrong fight, an unfortunate consequence of being such a brilliant all rounder, but he's able to adapt and take control when he needs to. For a man with just 9 bouts to his name he has already proven he has world class power, hurting Danny Roman and stopping Ryosuke Iwasa, he has great stamina, going 12 rounds and picking up the pace in some of the later rounds against Roman, and he's proven he can take a shot, as he showed against Roman. The one question mark about him, is whether he can come out on top in an intense inside war, and that's hopefully something we'll see later in the year in a potential clash with Stephon Fulton. Rios was a solid amateur himself, not the level of Akhmadaliev who competed at the very highest level of the sport but a solid one who twice won US national championships. Aged 31 Rios is a very experienced professional who debuted as a professional back in 2008 and ran off a very impressive 23-0 (10) record before losing in an upset to the always unpredictable Robinson Castellanos. Prior to his first loss he had notched notable wins over Andrew Cancio and Rico Ramos. Rios would bounce back well from the loss to Castellano by scoring 5 wins, including a victory against Jayson Velez, before getting a shot at WBC Super Bantamweight champion Rey Vargas. Despite losing to Vargas he did give the talented Mexican a really tough bout and showed he belonged at that level, but soon afterwards suffered his third loss, a KO defeat to Azat Hovhannisyan, which seemed to spell the end of his career at the top level just as it seemed he belonged there. Amazingly however he has rebuilt and won 4 in a row, including very solid wins over Diego De La Hoya and Oscar Negrete, to earn this show at Akhmadaliev. In the ring Rios is a fun fighter to watch. He likes to set a good tempo, let his hands go, and is a technically very good fighter, usually. He is however a fighter who has been stopped twice, and does make mistakes, as we saw repeatedly in his bout to Hovhannisyan who rocked him in round 3 and stopped him in round 6. His recovery ability is questionable, and whilst he knows how to survive, he is the type of man who can take a long time to clear his head when hurt. When facing fighters who don't have fight changing power, he is an awkward, aggressive fighter who can be a nightmare for many in the division. Sadly though with his stoppage losses, and his overall performance against Hovhannisyan, there will always be question marks about his heart, desire, and will to win. He has done a lot to answer those questions, but we will always wonder if he can turn things around when the going gets tough. We suspect Rios will be hungry to make a statement, and will look to press the fight early, taking the fight to Akhmadaliev. Sadly for him we don't see this as a tactic that will actually work. Instead we see his aggression being used against him as he essentially walks into Akhmadaliev's range, and ends up taking big shots from the champion. He might have some moments, but Rios' success will come at a price and he will take a lot of punishment. In the middle rounds that punishment will take a toll on Rios who will come undone completely and be stopped, for the third time in his career. Prediction - TKO7 Akhmadaliev  This coming Friday we'll see the long awaited ring return of WBA Light Flyweight "Super" champion Hiroto Kyoguchi (15-0, 10), who takes on "regular" champion Esteban Bermudez (14-3-2, 10), in what's expected to be a potential FOTY contender between two aggressive, hard hitting and exciting fighters looking to put down a marker to say they are the #1 fighter at 108lbs.
Of the two men the 28 year old Kyoguchi is the more well known and the more successful fighter. He had been a notable Japanese amateur before turning professional and debuting in 2016, with a low key win in Osaka. In just over 10 months he had gone from debutant to OPBF champion, stopping Armando de la Cruz for the OPBF Minimumweight title in February 2017. Just 5 months later he claimed the IBF Minimumweight title, the first world title of his career, which he defended twice before moving up in weight. At 108lbs he quickly established himself as one of the top divisional fighters, stopping Hekkie Budler at the end of 2018 for the WBA "super" title. Sadly since winning the Light Flyweight title he has lost a lot of momentum with just 3 defenses in 3 and a half years, as injuries and covid have really thwarted his career. He managed to record two defenses in 2019, but saw two planned defenses in 2020, against Andika D'Golden Boy in May and Thanongsak Simsri in November, fall through due to issues relating to covid. He managed to make his most recent appearance in March 2021, when he beat Axel Aragon Vega in 4 rounds. The plan was to get him back out in the ring later that same year but injuries saw his return being delayed, and delayed, to the point where he had now been out of the ring for well over a year. In the ring Kyoguchi is a strong, powerful, aggressive fighter who combines the traits of a boxer-puncher with those of an intelligent pressure fighter. He comes forward, he applies pressure behind a stiff jab, and although he's not the quickest with his feet his pressure is smart and effective. He cuts the ring off well and forces his fight on opponents. Notably he is not the sort of fighter who needs to take control early on, instead building his success as fights go on, as we saw notably against Budler who started really well before being broken down in the second half of the fight. As well as his pressure style he's also a heavy handed boxer, with a great variety of shots and solid stamina, having been 12 rounds 5 times. He uses a lot of his amateur pedigree when he needs to but also has the explosive combinations and power on the inside that appear to be inspired by Roman Gonzalez, who he has stated is one of his favourite fighters. Whilst Kyoguchi has been a fixture at world level for several years the same can't be said of Bermudez. The Mexican 26 year old debuted back in 2013, aged 17, and won his first 6 bouts before having a technical draw to end his winning run. Following that draw he tested the water at difference weights, and in 2015 suffered his first loss, when he was stopped inside a round by Francisco Perez Cardenas. That loss was quickly followed by his second loss, a decision loss at the hands of Gilberto Parra. He then began a small bounce back, scoring a notable win over former WBC world champion Oswaldo Novoa in 2019 before the pandemic slowed his rise, keeping him out of the ring for a year. Unfortunately on his return he was beaten again, losing a decision to Rosendo Hugo Guarneros. With a 13-3-2 (9) he was given a shot at WBA "regular" champion Carlos Canizales in May 2021 and was expected to be the next victim of Canizales' power however Bermudez shocked the boxing world and stopped Canizales to claim the title. He has, however, been out of the ring since that bout, giving him a lay off of over a year, and has had a bit of a stop start year, with planned bouts being cancelled which could have affected his hunger, desire and training for this bout. In the ring Bermudez looks like a big guy at 108lbs. He has long levers, and looks a bit of a physical freak making weight. He's very rough around the edges, his shots often look like he's pushing them and he falls short. He's not crisp, or clean, or accurate and he's defensively not the smarted. He is however a powerful guy and even his cuffing slow shots appear to have real venom in them. His power is the scary type of power that makes his opponents scared of him, overly respectful, and wary. He does a lot of things wrong, but with his power, his reach and his willingness to commit to big shots he is a nightmare to fight. We saw those tools force Canizales on to the backfoot, where he is less effective, and we expect him trying to do the same to Kyoguchi here. Although a big favourite Kyoguchi will need to be really, really cautious here. Especially given his inactivity in recent years. He has the skills and the tools to deal with Bermudez, especially with his body shots and combinations in the pocket, but at mid-range and longer distance Bermudez will have consistent success and will get Kyoguchi's respect. For Kyoguchi to win he needs to get inside, he needs to stop Bermudez getting full leverage on his shots and he needs to grind down the challenger. It's not going to be an easy task, but it's one he has the skills to do. We expect to see Bermudez have real success early on, maybe even wobbling Kyoguchi in the first few rounds. As the bout goes on however Kyoguchi will begin to shake his ring rust, settling into the task at hand and begin to break down Bermudez in a scintillating bout. Prediction - TKO10 Kyoguchi  November 7th 2019 will long be remembered for giving us one of the best Bantamweight bouts in recent memory, as Japanese star Naoya Inoue (22-0, 19) scored a unanimous decision over Filipino legend Nonito Donaire (42-6, 38) to unify the WBA and IBF Bantamweight titles, along with the Ring Magazine title and win the Bantamweight edition of the WBSS. The bout, later dubbed the "Drama in Saitama" was an instant classic, with everything a bout could want. It has intense respect between the two fighters, it had drama as Inoue suffered the first cut of his career, and was later diagnosed with a broken orbital and a fractured nose, and controversy with Ernie Sharif helping Donaire survive the penultimate round of the bout. The bout, later named the Ring Magazine Fight of the year, was brilliant and helped to enhance the reputations of both men.
This coming Tuesday we get to do it all again, in one of the most anticipated rematches of 2022. This time the bout will not only be for the WBA, IBF and Ring Magazine titles, but also the WBC title, with only the WBO title being missed on what would have unified all the Bantamweight belts together, for the first time in the 4 belt era. Since their first bout we've not seen as much of Inoue as we would have liked, with the Monster's career stalling in part due to the injuries he suffered against Donaire, and in part due to the Pandemic, which made it nearly impossible to stage big bouts in Japan during 2020 and 2021. As a result Inoue has fought just 3 times in that time period and none of the bouts were huge ones against the divisional elite. Instead they were his Las Vegas debut in October 2020 against the capable Jason Moloney, a mandatory against the underwhelming Michael Dasmarinas and a homecoming defense against the brave but massive over-matched Aran Dipaen. There had been plans for a bout against John Riel Casimero, but that was cancelled due to the pandemic and never re-arranged, unfortunately, before Casimero was stripped of the WBO title. Notably however the inactivity likely served Inoue well, allowing him a lot of time to heal up from the injuries he suffered to Donaire. He wasn't forced to rush back from what is a serious injury, and was instead able to take his time, and when he returned against Jason Moloney almost a year after that clash with Donaire he looked 100% the fighter he had been previously. He seemed very much the Monster we all know and love. As we all know Inoue, arguably the face of Japanese boxing over the last few years, is indeed the Monster. He's one of the few fighters in the sport who really can do it all. He can play the boxer, the boxer-puncher, the counter-puncher and the pressure fighter, and has the tools in his arsenal to really pick and choose what he wants to do and when he wants to do it. He has brutal power, which has carried up from Light Flyweight to Bantamweight and is likely to carry up at least another division, if not two. He has incredible handspeed, impressive footspeed and worryingly for he also has an incredibly quick boxing brain. That boxing brain sees him seeing things before they even look to be there, including counter opportunities and defensive gaps that he can exploit. He's an offensive freak but is also a defensively under-rated fighter, with only Donaire really landing much of note on him since his 2012 debut, and has an incredible jaw, that saw withstand Donaire's much patented left hook. Aged 39 Nonito Donaire should be retired, he should have his feet up, looking back on a great in ring career and either working with the new generation of fighters or using his brain as an analyst. Or even just walking away from boxing and enjoying one of his many hobbies away from the ring. Instead he's proving that a fighter who looks after themselves can give father time a bit of a fight, and still remain one of the most dangerous fighters in the sport. And when we talk about Donaire he really is dangerous, and has a very misleading KO ratio, of just 58.33%, despite being one of the heaviest handed fighters in the sport on a pound for pound basis. His power is legitimate and as he's gotten older, and lost some speed, he's adapted. He's not the same fighter he was, as a young Donaire was sharp, quick and destructive, but he's altered his in ring style to be deliberate, and has moved from a counter-puncher of sorts, to more of a stalking monster looking to take opponents heads off when he lands. Donaire, who has won titles from Flyweight to Featherweight, is a first ballot Hall of Famer when he retires, and his resume reads like a who's who of who, of the lower weights from the last 15 years. Wins over Vic Darchinyan, Moruti Mthalane, Hernan Marquez, Fernando Montiel, Toshiaki Nishioka, Jorge Arce, Ryan Burnett and Nordine Oubaali are just a handful of his wins. Even since the Inoue fight in 2019 he has scored notable wins stopping the then 17-0 Oubaali in 4 rounds and the then 24-0 Reymart Gaballo, further enhancing his reputation as a modern great. Early in his career Donaire lived up to the moniker of the "Filipino Flash". He was lightning quick, with great timing, vicious power but some what poor boxing skills. His power and speed allowed him to get away with making mistakes, and bailed him out of bad situations. With his speed gone now a days, he has changed into a fighter who uses his size, and his ridiculously big frame at Bantamweight, along with his incredibly chin, to take when he needs to. He applies intense stalking pressure now a days. It's slow, it's deliberate, but it's hard to deal with given he still has excellent timing and is happy to take a shot to land a shot. The change in style is almost a reinvention of a fighter, and it's one that has seen him have success well beyond the typical age of a Bantamweight, of almost any fighter for that matter. It's a change that has allowed him to have success in the last part of his career, and whilst it won't forever, he will remain a threat to all the top fighters at 118lbs, due to his toughness, power, size and timing. In their first bout the expectation was that Inoue was going to slay Donaire, stopping him and sending him into retirement. Had that happened it's fair to say Donaire would have been downplayed as being shot, and old. The fact he gave Inoue a tough bout saw both men enhancing their profiles and their positions. For Donaire to then bounce back and blast out Oubaali and prove he was still an elite level Bantamweight further enhanced both men, and coming into the Donaire is older than he was, but is also, arguably, standing in a better position than he was in 2019. Sadly for Donaire however, we don't see him having the same success he had in the first bout with Inoue. Instead we expect to see Inoue being smarter, sharper and using his brain more. He knows what Donaire's left hook can do, and he also knows Donaire can be hurt to the body, with a liver shot sending Donaire down in their first bout. We suspect that will be the key for Inoue here, as he uses his speed, to target the body of Donaire, landing single shots to to slowly take the wind out of Donaire in the early part of the fight. Single shots from Inoue, who will look to get in and get out, draw Donaire into mistakes and tag the body. In the later rounds those body shots will take a toll, force Donaire to defend his body, before Inoue goes up top with a burst of head shots, forcing a stoppage in the later rounds. After the bout, win or lose, we expect to see Donaire retire sailing off in to the sunset as a modern legend. Likewise we expect this to be either the final, or penultimate, Bantamweight bout for Inoue who will move up to Super Bantamweight and begin to hunt world titles in his 4th weight class. Prediction - TKO10 Inoue  This coming weekend fight fans around the globe will be focused on the Light Heavyweight division as the unbeaten Dmitrii Bivol (19-0, 11) takes on Mexican megastar Saul Alvarez (57-1-2, 39), at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The bout will see Bivol looking to extend his WBA Light Heavyweight "super" title reign, whilst Alvarez will look to further cement his place as the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet, and one of the greatest Mexican fighters of all time.
The bout promises to be a serious test for Canelo, who has looked sensational in recent years, whilst Bivol will get a chance to make a huge name for himself and prove he really is as good as his fans believe. Of the two fighters there is no doubting that Alvarez is the bigger name and the more prominent star. The Mexican is widely regarded as the face of the sport and the biggest global star boxing has. Not only is he regarded as a huge star but he's also widely regarded as the best pound-for-pound fighter, and has had success from Light Middleweight up to Light Heavyweight, winning titles in all 4 weight classes. Not only that but his resume is also incredible, with wins against the likes Shane Mosley, Austin Trout, Erislandy Lara, Miguel Cotto, Amir Khan, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, Gennady Golovkin, Daniel Jacobs, Sergey Kovalev, Callum Smith, Billy Joe Saunders and Caleb Plant. In the ring Canelo is a supreme fighting machine. He's an offensive fighter, who presses forward on the front foot, mentally breaks fighters with his front foot pressure, but applies that pressure in an intelligent, educated fashion. He uses smart footwork to cut the ring off, excellent head movement to make fighters miss, a tight guard to block shots that head his way, and some of the best body punching in the sport. Although not a huge single punch puncher Canelo is heavy headed, and his shots do damage right through the bout, with his power carrying late into bouts. He's often looks under-sized at 168lbs, never mind 175lbs, but he's physically imposing, thick, heavy set and incredibly strong, allowing him to push naturally bigger men around. Worryingly for opponents he's also intelligent, with a good boxing brain and he has shown an ability to adapt when he needs to. If we're looking for flaws with Canelo, he does have relatively slow feet, movement has caused him issues numerous times during his career and fighters have had success by keeping him chasing, but he his typically got to them sooner or later, Floyd Mayweather Jr aside. Russian based fighter Bivol is a fighter who has generated a lot of buzz among the hardcore fans early in his career, with exciting performances, and highly developed skills, along with an impressive work rate and a fan friendly style. His early years as a professional gave hints at him something a bit special, and someone worth tuning into. It was noted that he was a stand out amateur, though from his early days as a professional it was clear he had a style suited to the professional ranks. Early career wins over the likes of Felipe Romero, Jackson Junior and Felix Veral, all in his first 7 fights, put him on the fast track. Sadly however as the level of competition improved Bivol's style began to move away from exciting and over the last 4 or so years he has gone from exciting to conservative, controlling and effective, turning fans against him, despite solid wins over the likes of Sullivan Barrera, Isaac Chilemba, Jean Pascal and Joe Smith Jr. In recent years Bivol has focused a lot on boxing. Dictating the range, tempo and style of the fight. Using footwork to create space. Controlling the action behind his long straight punches, and good timing, rather than work rate, aggression and combinations. He has seemingly been happy to cruise to wins, and had disappointing performance against the likes of Isaac Chilemba and Craig Richards as a result. There is no doubting his talent, but there is a lack of fire, excitement, drive and in some ways ambition. And it has resulted in a lot of his recent fights feeling dramaless, as he sucks the excitement out of bouts. It works, and gets results, but certainly does feel like he has lost much of the good will he had. Although a solid Light Heavyweight Bivol is certainly no physical freak at the weight, nor a massive puncher. With Canelo looking to make his name at the weight, Bivol is the ideal foe for him, unlike Joe Smith Jr and Artur Beterbiev, who can both bang. Bivol will try and box with Canelo, and will have success, with his footwork, straight punching and work at distance. Sadly though we don't see him keeping Canelo at bay long enough to rack up the rounds, and instead he will be forced to either stand and fight, or go through the motions to lost a decision. We don't see Bivol having the hunger needed to make this into a fire fight late on. Instead we see him starting well, being caught up in the middle rounds, and then having Canelo take the lead, with his work rate and pressure, and go on to take a wide, clear, decision over the champion. Bivol will have moments, but will simply not do enough. Prediction - UD12 Canelo It's rare that Japan gets to host one of the biggest and most anticipated fights of the year, but that's exactly what we get this Saturday as we finally get to see the Middleweight mega clash between Gennadiy Golovkin (41-1-1, 36) and Ryota Murata (16-2, 13). The bout will not just be a huge bout for Japan, but also the boxing world, and a huge Middleweight unification bout, as Golovkin risks his IBF title against WBA "Super" champion Murata. It is also the culmination of years of chasing by Murata and his team for a super fight, with Golovkin having been on Murata's wish list for the better part of a decade, along with Saul "Canelo" Alvarez.
Whilst the bout has long been spoken about in Japan it often seemed out of reach for Murata and Teiken. That was until last year when a deal was finally agreed to have the bout in Japan, in December. Sadly though the best laid plans of Teiken were unable to go ahead when the Omicron variant of Coronavirus was discovered, leading to the Japanese government closing the borders and preventing Golovkin for travelling for the bout, and forcing it to be postponed until this coming weekend. Despite the delay the bout remains one of the most notable bouts on the schedule, and one that promises genuine fireworks. It also, could, end up being the final time we see one, if not both, of these men in the ring. Of the two fighters the more well known, by far, is Golovkin. "GGG" has been a fixture on the global boxing scene as both and amateur and a professional. As an amateur he was a stellar fighter who won a whole host of notable honours. He was a World Championship gold medal winner, a multi-time World Cup winner, an Asian Championship gold medal winner winner and an Olympic silver medal winner. In over 350 amateur bouts he only suffered a handful of losses, and turned professional with a lot of expectation on his shoulders. Sadly the early part of Golovkin's professional career was somewhat wasted, as he was tucked away on Universum cards in Germany. When he finally left Universum there was a delay in him really getting his career going due to contractual issues with Universum and it wasn't until 2012, aged 30, that he finally got a chance to fight in the US. By that point Golovkin was 23-0 (20) and had held the WBA "regular" title for almost 2 years. Since 2012 however he has been one of the faces of boxing, with regular bouts in the US and wins over fighters like Gabe Rosado, Daniel Geale, David Lemieux, Kell Brook, Daniel Jacobs and Sergiy Derevyanchenko, as well as two sensational battles with Saul Alvarez, which saw Golovkin going 0-1-1 against the Mexican icon. We don't think we really need to go into Golovkin's style too much, but for those few who haven't followed him through the years, the Kazakh is a massive punching fighter, who applies intelligent, constant and intense pressure. He combines an impressive work rate, with very heavy hands, an incredibly chin, and incredibly good technical skills. Looking for flaws with Golovkin isn't as tough as it once was. In the past his defense was his major flaw, though given his chin it perhaps wasn't much of a flaw. Now a days though he has slowed significantly, his footwork isn't what it once was, although he was never quick he has seemingly slowed down with the bouts against Steve Rolls and Sergiy Derevyanchenko, in 2019, suggesting cracks were showing. Also, at the age of 40 and having been inactive since December 2020, it's hard to know what he still has in the tank, and what he can still do in the ring. He looked great against Kamil Szeremeta, but Szeremeta offered very little and was stopped again just 6 months later, by Jamie Munguia, before being held to a draw at the end of 2021 by Nizar Trimech. It could well be that that bout flattered Golovkin, rather than showed a resurgence from the Kazakh. As for Murata, like Golovkin he was also a very good amateur, and had a style suited to the professional ranks. Among his amateur accomplishments are a world championship silver medal and an Olympic gold medal. Unlike Golovkin though he wasn't a major star on the unpaid ranks for long, and only really had a stretch of a year or two where he made a huge amount of noise, before eventually turning professional in 2013. As a professional he moved pretty quickly, beating the OPBF champion on debut, and scored a string of solid wins to begin his career. His first 10 opponents had a combined 188-39-10 record, showing the strength of his early competition, and he was fighting in 10 rounders as early as his 4th bout. Sadly though his performance were somewhat hit and miss, and there was times where he seemed to go through the motions, rather than show what he can really do. When he has put his foot on the gas, and things have clicked, he has shone, such as his stoppage wins against Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam, Rob Brant and Steven Butler. As mentioned, when it comes to Murata's performances they have been hit and miss. At times he can look plodding, ponderous, and almost disinterested. This was seen in 2018 when he was dominated by Rob Brant. It seemed, in many ways, he had over-looked Brant, and had come in incredibly flat. When he's on form however he's a big, strong, powerful, pressure fighter, who uses a tight high guard, a stiff jab, and a huge ramrod right hand to break opponents down. His chin is solid, his work rate is decent, and physically he's a very scary fighter. He's not the busiest, or the sharpest, but he can change tempo really well, and when he lets his combinations go he can look brutal, and has dismantled very solid fighters. He is made for TV, with his offensive prowess and his defensive flaws alongside his brutal thudding power, though often looks a bit basic. Aged 36 he'll know that this is his likely his last chance to make a mark on the wider boxing world, and a win over Golovkin would certainly do that, but he has also been very inactive, having not fought since the end of 2019, something that could really hurt him here. In their primes, there is no debating the result of this bout. Golovkin would win every time. But neither man is in their prime anymore. Golovkin is now 40, he has visible slowed in bouts, and although the much better technical boxer, his slowing feet might allow Murata to force his will on the bout more than many would expect. Likewise Murata isn't in his prime but he's a big old brute at the division, and will trudge forward looking to use his size and strength, though might not be able to pull the trigger like a 30 or 31 year old can. One thing is for certain. Both of these guys are aggressive. Both like to let their hands go and see defense as something that really isn't their strong point. That could lead to this becoming something of a fire fight up close and personal, with both leaning into and on top of the other man, unleashing shots and mid and close range, in a battle of machismo. If that happens we, as fans, are in for a treat, and could end up with something very special, despite both men being on the older side of things. If Golovkin's legs are still youthful and bouncy enough, he should have enough to dictate the tempo, and control Murata at mid range and more than hold his own up close. If that happens Golovkin takes either stoppage or wide decision. If Murata can however get inside, and make this a battle of wills, he has a genuine chance of an upset, in an all out war, thanks to the age of Golovkin. Whilst we can see a potential route to victory for Murata, we would still deem that a very big upset, and a genuine surprise. With that in mind we are expecting to see Golokin win, but go through hell to take the W in a bruising, brutal, tough, bout. Prediction - TKO10 Golovkin  This coming Tuesday we'll see Japanese sensation Naoya Inoue (21-0, 18) return to a Japanese ring for the first time in more than two years as he defends his IBF and WBA "super" Bantamweight titles against unheralded Thai challenger Aran Dipaen (12-2, 11). On paper the bout is a mismatch, with one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet essentially fighting in a tick over defense, and giving local Japanese fans something to look forward as the year comes to an end. Something that became a lot more meaningful when Japan closed it's borders, and ended up having two massive world title unification bouts being scrapped due to the on going pandemic. As a result of those bouts being scrapped, this bout will be the final would title bout to take place in Japan in 2021.
Aged 30 Aran Dipaen is a relative unknown for many. Unlike many Thai's he has travelled for fighters, and has previously fought not just in Thailand but also Russia, Japan and the UK, but his bouts on the road haven't been particularly high profile. In fact from the three he's travelled outside of Thailand for, the most notable was in the UK where he lost a controversial split decision to Tommy Frank in a bout for the WBC International Silver Super Flyweight title. Despite not being well known that doesn't mean he's not a capable fighter, he made an impact last time he was in Japan, stopping Ryohei Arakawa, and has also notched stoppages over tricky Filipino Jomar Fajardo, and the experienced Sukkasem Kietyongyuth, who typically fights at Super Bantamweight. In the ring Dipaen, like many Thai's, can look a bit raw at times, and like a man who didn't have a long and storied amateur career. Like many Thai's his styles comes from his days as a Muay Thai fighter, and shows he has a lot more experience in the ring that his 14 professional boxing bouts. It's due to that style that he has a quite an unusual guard, and why he tends to ignore his jab to instead throw heavy right hands. His boxing skills are limited, and that's being polite, but he is naturally heavy handed, he knows his way around the ring and he's tough, rugged and refuses to just lie down. Even when he's coming off second best. He's raw as a boxer but is still dangerous and like many former Muay Thai fighters he can take real punishment and has a surprising gas tank and will to win. Sadly though he isn't particularly quick and his flat footed style, along with his lack of an educated jab, his high guard, are just asking for trouble against someone as accurate, explosive and intelligent as Inoue. Talking about Inoue it's hard to think of things haven't already been said about the biggest name in Japanese boxing. The "Monster" is a real star, and is an incredibly rare talent who has everything a fighter can need. He has brutal power, scary physical strength, incredible speed and timing, every punch in the book, and a fantastic boxing brain. His body shots are among the very best in the sport, his jab is crisp and sharp, his left hook is scary accurate, and worryingly for his opponents he is both defensively solid and frighteningly tough. So far in his career he has fought through bad damage to his right hand, including against Omar Andres Narvaez and Yuki Sano who he out boxed whilst fighting one handed, he has also battled through bad facial damage, which he suffered against Nonito Donaire, and has shown an impressive chin when he's been tagged. Interestingly the one worry about him earlier in his career was his hands, which were damaged in a number of early career fights, but since moving to Bantamweight the hands have held up, and appears cutting down to Light Flyweight and Flyweight earlier in his career may have played a part in those injuries. He has also been working with a specialist wraps guy in recent years, which will also have helped protect his hands. Earlier in his career the one chink in his armour was the aforementioned hands. That seemed to be the one way a fighter was going to beat him. With stand his power, then fight a one handed Inoue and take advantage. Now however there doesn't appear to be a single chink in his armour. And worryingly he seems capable of being a chameleon in the ring. We've seen him fight as a boxer, a counter puncher, a pure puncher, a boxer-mover, and a pressure fighter. He and his team, including his father Shingo and promoter Hideyuki Ohashi, know what he can do, and also know how to work gameplans to beat opponents, take advantage of their flaws, rather than just relying on Inoue's fantastic all round destructive abilities. Sadly for Dipaen there is a lot of flaws for Inoue to take advantage of, including his slow feet, high guard and lack of a jab. Given how brutal Inoue is with his body shots, we can't help but think that Dipean's flat foot and high guard will allow the Monster space and timing to land a brutal shot to the mid-section whenever he feels like. Dipaen is tough, and one knockdown is unlikely to be the end of him, but a knockdown from a body shot will likely start his downfall, and a knockdown or two later the referee will step in and save him from himself. We don't expect Inoue to try and blow out Dipaen too early, especially given how long fans in Japan have had to wait to see him fight at home, but we do know that once he had his man hurt he will finish him off. Prediction - TKO4 Inoue Much of the attention on the boxing world this coming Tuesday will be in Japan, for a world title double header, there is however one other world title bout taking place, this time in Thailand, as long reigning WBA Minimumweight "Super" champion Knockout CP Freshmart (22-0, 8) defends his title against Filipino challenger Robert Paradero (18-1, 12).
The talented 31 year old champion is one of the longest reigning active world champions in the sport, and he has held every version of a WBA title over the years. He won the interim title way back in 2014, won the regular title in 2016 and was finally upgraded to super champion behind his 2020 bout with Norihito Tanaka. Sadly whilst his reign has been long, and has included notable wins over the likes of Byron Rojas, Carlos Buitrago, Chaozhong Xiong, Rey Loreto and Muhammad Rachman, it's been a rather boring reign. He's not looked like "Knockout" CP Freshmart and more "Decision CP Freshmart", and he falls somewhat in the same vein as Devin Haney, Dmitry Bivol and Demetrius Andrade in focusing on winning first, rather than entertaining. As a result a lot of his bouts feel like they drag on, especially in the later stages when he often becomes more reserved and more cautious. At his best Knockout is an excellent boxer. He's intelligent, he moves well, he's clean and accurate with his punches, creates spaces, and has respectable power. There's not really too many areas to pick on regarding his skillset, though that doesn't change the fact he often fights well within himself, and is rarely pushed. Despite not having many flaws, there is some areas where's not great. His power is certainly not terrifying, his out put limited at times, there are question marks about his stamina, and we do wonder how easily he makes 105lbs given he is now 31. It's clear he is among the very best at 105lbs, but we do feel that there fighters out there who have the tools to beat him, and we think a high output fighter, with a good chin, would his Kryptonite to him. Aged 25 Robert Paradero is a Filipino fighter who turned professional in 2014, and quietly made his name fighting at home. He won his first 18 bouts without really facing anyone of note, and it was disappointing not to see his team push him hard and actually get him decent tests and experience. It was clear he was very talented but beating the likes of Ian Ligutan, Jong Sabellina and Jonathan Almacen did little more than pad his record, and didn't get him the developmental rounds he really needed before facing a major step up. Sadly for him he was moved up, big time, earlier this year and his lack of decent level experience showed as he lost a competitive split decision to Vic Saludar for the WBA "Regular" Minimumweight title. With a few solid developmental fights he could well have beaten Saludar, but didn't have the experience he needed. Sadly coming in to this bout, Saludar is the only man of note that Paradero has faced, and it again feels like he hasn't yet had the developmental fights that he needs to face someone like Knockout CP Freshmart. In the ring Paradero is a very nice boxer, he has a nice sharp sharp, he knows hoe to move around the ring and decent speed. Sadly though he did look out of ideas when he faced Saludar, and as the fight went on he became more and more negative, skirting around the outside of the ring whilst looking worried about the power and physicality of Saludar. It was clearly a game plan, to move and make the slower Saludar chase him, but he simply didn't do enough at times and waited too long to let his own shots go. He never looked out classed against Saludar, but he looked like a man who was simply fighting the wrong fight and failing to make the most of the opportunity. He also didn't do enough, and was far too conservative for much of the bout. He looked relaxed, even in the later stages, but he failed to put his foot on the gas in the final seconds of rounds and tried to steal them. If Paradero was given a year of Oriental level fights, given those types of bouts to mature, develop and prepare for a world title bout, we honestly think he could pick up a title. He's got a lot going for him, but needs testing bouts to develop and learn. Sadly jumping from low level domestic foes, to Saludar and then to Knockout is not the way to develop a world champion. Sadly travelling to Thailand is never easy, beating Knockout CP Freshmart will never be easy, and doing that after having no wins of note will also not be easy. We suspect Parader will start well, he'll have success with his speed and his long, looping shots, but overall that success will be limited and instead we'll see Knockout control large swathes of the bout. To do that he will dictate the range and tempo of the bout, he will counter Paradero, and make him think twice about throwing shots, and after 8 or 9 rounds he'll be in a comfortable lead and cruise to the final bell, and his latest defense. Prediction - UD12 Knockout CP Freshmar  This coming Saturday is a crazily busy day in the world of professional boxing with a lot of major fighters in action and a host of world champions defending their titles. Sadly with so much going on it can be easy for a fighter to get lost in the shuffle, and that certainly seems to be the case for WBA Light Heavyweight "super" champion Dmitry Bivol (18-0, 11), who will be defending his title in Russia against Umar Salamov (26-1, 19). The bout, although a pretty damn good one, has flown under-the-radar, and almost sums up the last few years in the career of Bivol, who should have been a in huge fights by now, but is instead having one of the most frustrating careers of any world class fighter in the sport.
The 30 year old Bivol, originally from Kyrgyzstan though fighting out of Russia, is one of the very best at 175lbs. He's a smart fighter, with solid power, a high work rate, and a very good boxing brain. He has notched plenty of good wins as well, beating the likes of Felix Varela, Sullivan Barrera, Isaac Chilemba, Jean Pascal, Joe Smith Jr and Lenin Castillo. He, arguably, has the best resume of any active fighter at 175lbs. Sadly however he is also a huge frustrating figure, who has built a reputation as a fighter who is happy to win, and won't go out of his way to impress. To him it seems the victory is more important than making fans tune in and watch him, or care about him. We know he's not alone in that mentality, but it has made it easy for the other fighters in the division to freeze him out. He's too much of a high risk, low reward fighter, even with the WBA belt around his waste. In the ring the most accurate description of Bivol is methodical. He fights at a steady tempo from round 1 to round 12, he keeps at mid to long range, uses good footwork and good straight shots. He does throw a lot of leather, in fairness to him, but it is almost all straight shots, and his inside work is very limited. He fights very much like a man who is boxing within himself and hasn't been required to use the top two gears. It's incredibly frustrating to watch him, knowing he can do so much more but know he doesn't want to do more. He just wants the win, rather than to shine, and create fan demand for bigger and better bouts. The worst thing is we know he can punch, we know he can bang, we know he can make statements, as he did when he stopped Sullivan Barerra and Trent Broadhurst, but he simply chooses not to. Whilst Bivol is someone with the skills to impress, who has chosen not to, 27 year old Umar Salamov is someone who simply hasn't yet been given the chances to impress, but will know this is a huge opportunity for his career. He's been a professional since 2012 and began his career in Ukraine, being matched softly, before stepping up and scoring notable wins over the likes of Doudou Ngumbu, Bob Ajisafe and Eil Markic, decent European level fighters. In 2017 he differed his first loss, a razor thin one to Damien Hooper, but since then has found a nasty side going 7-0 (5) and scored decent wins against the likes of Sergei Ekimov. In the ring Salamov is a tall, long fighter at the weight, standing at around 6'3". He looks to use his reach, fighting behind a long jab, and he does well in setting the table with it, even if it's not the most spiteful jab out there. He looks relaxed in the ring, but can be seen over-reaching and making silly mistakes, often when trying to land his right hand, which is a very powerful shot but not one thrown with much crispness to it. In fact whilst he does look like someone who knows what he's doing in the ring, he also looks like someone who lacks real polish. There's a lot to like, but there's a lot of areas where it's clear he needs to tighten things up, and that's both offensive and defensively. Sadly for Salamov whilst he has got tools to make a mark in the sport, his flaws are the major issue, and against someone as technically well schooled and as smart as Bivol those flaws will be picked apart. Salamov's willingness to fight at range, even with his height and reach, will not serve him well against the crisp, clean, and accurate 1-2's of Bivol, who will use his head for target practice. Salamov's ugly defense leaves him open and Bivol will be able to land time and time again. It will, for all intents, look like Bivol and his team have picked the perfect dance partner. The real question is "Will Bivol look to score a finish?" Sadly we don't think so, and instead we're expecting a long, dreary, decision win for the frustrating champion. Prediction - UD12 Bivol |
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