After Deontay Wilder obliterated Dominic Breazeale in the First Round two weeks ago, the arrival of Luis Ortiz into the ring indicated where the American WBC Champion was perhaps focusing his attention. This week it was confirmed that it will be Wilder-Ortiz II next and with that fight scheduled in September I would assume Wilder is not going to be taking on a third fight in 2019 and is thus out of the picture as far as Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury are concerned.
Anyone who has been reading about the Heavyweights and keeping notes will already be aware that any Wilder-Fury rematch was expected to be left to mature into 2020, while it is clear that Wilder is refusing to dance to the beat provided by Eddie Hearn.
With that in mind Anthony Joshua will be making his US debut this week against Andy Ruiz Jr, not Jarrell Miller, and his own future plans remain clouded. There have been comments made by Joshua suggesting an offer will be made to Tyson Fury, but I think the more realistic path for the Unified Champion is going to be fulfilling a mandatory against Kubrat Pulev later this year. Anthony Joshua hasn't fought three times in the same calendar year since 2016 so any 'Super Fight' involving him also looks set to be missed out on until 2020 too.
Tyson Fury is out later this month and is expected to have three fights in 2019, but I don't really know what to make of him. I like Fury, I always have, but he seems to love calling out the big names but with no real intention to making those fights in 2019 as he is looking to really get his name out there in the US and then go into the mega fights that exist in the Division.
Make no mistake this is a frustration for the fans, but the three paths being treaded by the top three Heavyweight fighters show little sign of actually giving the fans the fights they want.
On Saturday Anthony Joshua will be leading the card at Madison Square Garden and I am sure there will be plenty of eyes on the product even in the United Kingdom. Staying up until the early hours of the morning is not ideal, but the fight being scheduled on the same night as the Champions League Final may bring in more viewers than at other times of the year and Joshua remains popular enough to think many will be buying the fight.
The card might not be the greatest, but I don't think it is going to be putting people off who may have enjoyed a good evening and look to extend that further into the night.
Two weeks ago the Boxing Picks which had begun 2019 with a poor run finally completed the turn around I have been mentioning for a while. Six picks were made and five returned as winners to bring 2019 into a positive number after a winning 2018.
Hopefully that momentum keeps things ticking along this week with the selections from the Anthony Joshua-Andy Ruiz Jr card from New York. June does look to be a busy month with the big UK fight between Josh Warrington and Kid Galahad to come, while Tyson Fury and Gennady Golovkin are both in action too.
Tony Harrison vs Jermell Charlo II is also on the slate for June before a decent looking July keeps things going.
Joshua Buatsi vs Marco Antonio Periban
It really isn't that easy to know how good Joshua Buatsi is until he steps up another level, but I have to say he ticks a lot of boxes. The potentially huge domestic dust up with Anthony Yarde continues to be the fight that people want to see, but it may not be one that is put together until both have reached the conclusion of their path towards becoming World level fighters.
I think Buatsi's team would be keener to push for that fight now, but that is because Yarde is almost at World level already with rumours he is set to take on Sergey Kovalev for the WBO Light Heavyweight World Title.
Instead Buatsi has to keep ticking along and continue his own path up the World Rankings having secured the British Light Heavyweight Title with a Third Round stoppage of Liam Conroy. Prior to that Buatsi had secured three First Round stoppages in a row and I am not sure how much he is going to learn from this fight.
Marco Antonio Periban's toughness can't be ignored considering he has fought Badou Jack to a Draw and been beaten on a Decision by Avni Yildirim. That was his last fight back in March 2017, but Periban was blown away by James DeGale in the Third Round and he has largely campaigned as a Super Middleweight not a Light Heavyweight.
Having the lay off and now facing a puncher in Buatsi should surely lead to an early night for the Brit who will be looking to give America something to remember him by on the undercard of the Anthony Joshua card. A first fight outside of the United Kingdom could mean Joshua Buatsi starts a little slow as he gets to grips with new surroundings, but I think this fight has been picked for him to show he is ready to compete with the top names in a stacked Division and I am going to back Buatsi to get Periban out of there a little quicker than DeGale did in November 2014.
Chris Algieri vs Tommy Coyle
Let me start this by saying if this was a fight between these two in their prime Chris Algieri would be a huge favourite to win it. Over his career he has mixed at a higher level than Tommy Coyle, but there are factors at play which makes it appealing to back the underdog in this one.
This is only going to be the third fight Algieri has had in the three years since he was overwhelmed by Errol Spence Jr. He has put a couple of Decision wins together in November 2018 and January 2019 and is operating at Light Welterweight these days rather than Welterweight.
Back in 2014 Algieri became a Light Welterweight World Champion, but he moved up soon afterwards to take on Manny Pacquiao and has also been in with Amir Khan and Spence Jr. At 35 years old I do think it is tougher to cut the weight to get down to this level and I have no doubt that Tommy Coyle is going to test Algieri to his limits.
With all due respect, Coyle is not the greatest Boxer in the world, but he is game and his style is one that the American audience appreciate. He isn't the hardest hitter, but he will look to wear down the favourite and make him fight every second of every Round and test the wear and tear that Algieri has had in his career.
I can't see a way that Coyle will outbox Algieri, but I do think he can wear him down if he has struggled to make the weight. Not many have been able to stop Algieri, but I do think Coyle can perhaps get the better of someone who may be on the back end of his career and the British fighter is going to go out swinging to get the job done.
Much of this pick is down to the fact that I don't think Algieri is the fighter he once was. He has all the tools to outbox Coyle, but I think the latter is going to get close enough to attack the body and wear him down and I do believe there is a real possibility that he can find a way to put enough punches together to find a stoppage.
Tommy Coyle is a significant underdog and I don't think he can win the fight on the cards. We will soon know how much Chris Algieri feels he has left in the tank, but I am leaning towards less than the layers believe. With a weight cut in place, Coyle should look to work the body and see if he can slow down and hurt the local fighter and stun him in front of his supporters.
Callum Smith vs Hassan N'Dam
After winning the World Boxing Super Series last year, Callum Smith has been out of the ring and it is something of a disappointment that he has not been able to kick on with his career. I would have expected Smith to have been able to have lined up a 'homecoming' at the very least since the win over George Groves in September 2018, but the man figured to be the Number 1 fighter in the Super Middleweight Division is back this Saturday on Anthony Joshua's undercard.
This should not be a difficult night for Smith even if he has to shake out some of the rustiness of being out of the ring for almost nine months. He is facing Hassan N'Dam who has been brought up from Middleweight where he secured a win over Martin Murray at the back end of 2018.
Hassan N'Dam has been down multiple times in the Middleweight Division and he looks to be at a physical disadvantage in this one. Only two fights ago he was being stopped by Ryota Murata who has since been worked out as a pretty one-dimensional fighter, while Peter Quillan and David Lemieux both knocked N'Dam on multiple occasions within their fights.
The Cameroonian has to be respected considering the toughness he has shown in continuing to get up and fight, but Callum Smith is a big man at this weight and those physical advantages will be tough to avoid if N'Dam is hurt or put down.
I do think N'Dam might not have the same resistance as he once did having been involved in some difficult fights and in his last loss he was stopped. I am not disputing how hard Murata can hit, but Smith is a fighter who finds better angles and I think he is a tougher puncher too so I imagine he is able to showcase his ability to the watching American audience.
It might take a couple of Rounds to just loosen up having been out of the ring for as long as he has, but I expect Smith to start breaking N'Dam down in Round Three or Four. By Round Five and Six I think the combinations will be hurting N'Dam who will likely hit the canvas a couple of times before the referee or corner wave it off for a rugged fighter who may not have the same resilience as he once did.
Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr
A ridiculous decision from Jarrell Miller to take multiple PEDs while preparing for his World Heavyweight Title shot meant a change to this card.
The American audience will still get their chance to see Anthony Joshua for the first time, but instead of local hope Miller we are going to see American-Mexican Andy Ruiz Jr get a shot at the Champion.
A fighter with one loss on his record is being built up by Eddie Hearn, but in reality I am not convinced about Ruiz Jr at all. He has fast hands for a Heavyweight, but the physical limitations is going to make it very difficult for him to get close enough to Joshua to actually threaten the Brit.
If Joshua wants to give the fans a show it could be more interesting as it may allow Ruiz Jr to get in and let his hands go, but I think Deontay Wilder's blow out of Dominic Breazeale is going to encourage the Unified Champion to be focused and produce a dominant win.
It might be fun for a couple of Rounds, but I really don't believe Ruiz Jr has enough all round to really give Joshua too many problems. We could see some hands being let go by both, but I expect the imposing Joshua gets the better of the exchanges and this could end up being a shortish night for him.
With rumours that Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder have signed to face each other in early 2020, Anthony Joshua's own future plans might involve a return to the United Kingdom. He can't worry about that at the moment and I expect him to do a very good job on Ruiz Jr as I look for Joshua to win this fight in the first half of the scheduled Twelve Rounds.
MY PICKS: Joshua Buatsi Win Between 1-2 @ 2.37 Sky Bet (2 Units)
Tommy Coyle to Win by KO/TKO/Disqualification @ 6.50 Bet Fred (1 Unit)
Callum Smith Win Between 1-6 @ 2.37 Sky Bet (2 Units)
Anthony Joshua Win Between 1-6 @ 1.72 Sky Bet (2 Units)
Callum Smith Win Between 1-6 @ 2.37 Sky Bet (2 Units)
Anthony Joshua Win Between 1-6 @ 1.72 Sky Bet (2 Units)
Boxing 2019: 13-21, + 8.74 Units (54 Units Staked, + 16.19% Yield)
Boxing 2018: + 5.14 Units (159 Units Staked, + 3.23% Yield)
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