Over the past week it has been announced that new restrictions are going to be place for up to six months and that has effectively postponed any attempt to bring fans back into Stadiums for sporting events.
It could be a big blow for many sports, but Boxing has a habit of getting on with the job and that has seen some big cards announced either side of the Atlantic. The three top Heavyweights are all expected to be in action before the end of the year with the promoters looking to avoid stagnating careers, while in the UK the big fights between Oleksandr Usyk and Dereck Chisora and the rematch between Alexander Povetkin and Dillian Whyte have been announced for the coming weeks.
At least that will keep the fans entertained during what could be the difficult winter months where restrictions might become much tighter as they were back in March and April.
This weekend Boxing fans are spoilt with some top fights scheduled across three different venues- I am a huge Josh Taylor fan so it will be brilliant to see him back in action before he, hopefully, can move onto the big Unification fights and potentially moving up in weight in 2021. The WBSS Cruiserweight Final looks to be one filled with huge punches and has finally been scheduled for this weekend, while the Charlo Twins head up a PPV in the United States on what is a stacked card and with some uncertainty as to how the two main events will develop.
That uncertainty builds intrigue and I am looking forward to an evening on the sofa and will be completely unaffected by pubs now closing at 10pm rather than 11pm.
I am stunned that none of the big sporting channels in the United Kingdom have picked up the Charlo card, but over the coming weeks and months they are going to be focusing on building their own PPVs and perhaps the cost was too much. At this time it feels like the costs are going to be placed on the consumers head rather than the big networks and that means we have a number of PPV events coming up which will also mean picking and choosing which cards you are willing to pay for.
Over the last couple of years the PPV market in the United Kingdom is certainly not as strong as it was in the years before that and outside of Anthony Joshua it is very hard to know where people are willing to spend their money. I can see the Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder 3 card and the Alexander Povetkin-Dillian Whyte being popular, but the other cards that have been suggested for PPV will find it much tougher at a time when people are suffering financially.
Charlie Edwards vs Kyle Williams
It has been over a year since we last saw Charlie Edwards in the ring and he has since moved promoters and also weight.
He actually will be up two Divisions when he enters the ring on Saturday, and the long-term plan may be to drop back to Super-Flyweight which is where some massive fights could potentially await, but Edwards has to make a statement here.
The last time we saw him he was very fortunate to escape with his World Title at Flyweight after it was ruled that Julio Cesar Martinez had hit Edwards while he was already ruled down. Regardless of the result, Charlie Edwards knew his time was over having felt drained boiling down to the weight and he has spoken about being much stronger at his current level.
Charlie Edwards is a big favourite to get the better of Kyle Williams who has come up short when fighting for British and European belts at this weight. That may mean Williams feels like the naturally bigger man, but he is going to have to bridge some levels to make this a competitive contest.
Only one of his two defeats have come by Stoppage, but I think Charlie Edwards will be able to break him down over the course of the Ten Rounds. He isn't exactly known for stoppage powers with six of his fifteen wins coming inside the distance, but Edwards does feel he can make more of an impact at this weight compared with his previous one.
I think this fight has been put together for Edwards to do that and he might be able to move through the gears and show his superior quality as the Rounds progress. Kyle Williams is unlikely to want to cover up and see it through to the bell and when he takes chances Charlie Edwards can make him pay.
A small interest in a late Stoppage is the play here.
Ricards Bolotniks vs Hosea Burton
The Golden Contract tournament has captured the imagination of Boxing fans in Europe and the Semi Final of the Light Heavyweight tournament takes place on Saturday evening in Latvia.
That is where the home hope Ricards Bolotniks will be hoping to back up his upset win in the Quarter Final when he takes on the favourite for the tournament in Hosea Burton.
The second Semi Final is going to be fought during the week, but both Bolotniks and Burton will not be worrying about that and are instead feeling pretty good about their chances of winning this fight.
Ricards Bolotniks crushed unbeaten Steven Ward in One Round in Brentwood back in December, but I don't know if you can read too much into that victory. He has won five fights in a row, but Bolotniks has also been beaten five times already in his career and I do think Hosea Burton is a real step up in class for him to deal with.
The favourite had a fairly comfortable win in his own Quarter Final as he took a Unanimous Decision, but Burton will be disappointed with the way his career has somewhat stalled in the last few years. Hosea Burton lost to Frank Buglioni, the sole defeat he has on his record, but that was back in 2016 and this will only be the eighth fight since then.
He has been linked with some bigger names, but Burton has not really been able to push forward and that is what makes this Golden Contract tournament so important for him. I do think he should be able to put some on Bolotniks in this fight and I do think that will give Burton every chance of making a statement ahead of any potential Final.
I am not buying the suggestion that Burton can end this in the first stanza, but I do think Ricards Bolotniks won't be very hard to find and eventually the bigger hitting of Hosea Burton should pay off.
I think the British fighter can avoid trying to win a Decision away from home by finding the stoppage at some point over the course of Twelve Rounds.
Josh Taylor vs Apinun Khongsong
The Coronavirus crisis has put a number of Boxers on hold in their career, but the decision was made by Josh Taylor's people that he needs to get out there and get his mandatory out of the way.
There is no doubt that Taylor would love to Unify the Light Welterweight Division and then perhaps move up for some monster fights, but he does want to clear things out in his own Division. Last year he won the World Boxing Super Series Light Welterweight tournament with an impressive victory over Regis Prograis and that makes Josh Taylor a big favourite to win a fight like this one.
To be perfectly honest it is hard to know what to expect from Apinun Khongsong who has won sixteen pro fights and thirteen by stoppage to move into the mandatory spot. Only one of those fights have taken place outside of Thailand, but the 24 year old will feel he can hurt Taylor if he has been underestimated.
Realistically it would be a big surprise if Josh Taylor was caught out, although I do think he might take a bit of time to warm up having been out of the ring for almost twelve months. The counter punching should open things up for Taylor as the fight develops and I do think by the mid-Rounds he will be in complete control and landing some spiteful punches of his own.
Josh Taylor hits plenty hard and I think the big test for Apinun Khongsong will be how much punishment he is going to be willing to take- I don't think the Thai fighter will fold quickly, but by halfway it should be a one-sided bout and I believe the corner or the referee may have to step in at around that point.
Mairis Briedis vs Yuniel Dorticos
The World Boxing Super Series has had some problems in the time it has been in operation, but they have also managed to do what they set out to and that is create some real stars.
The previous Cruiserweight Tournament crowned Oleksandr Usyk as the man to beat and he has since become a very big name, and the second running of the Cruiserweights has been brilliant to watch.
Finally we have the Final set to go as Mairis Briedis and Yuniel Dorticos meet in Germany and I honestly can't see this being anything but a big hitting contest. At any time you may see a punch that swings the contest in favour of one of the fighters and I do think it will be a contest that ends with one of the Boxers unable to go any further.
It is hard to know who should be favourite- I am a big fan of Yuniel Dorticos, but Mairis Briedis has shown tremendous resiliency and hits very well himself. Either way I would be a little surprised to hear the final bell sound in this one and am going to look for one of the Boxers to put enough punches together to announce themselves as the Champion and man to beat in the Division going forward.
Daniel Roman vs Juan Carlos Payano
This is not quite a crossroads bout for Daniel Roman, but it will be a long way back to relevancy if he was to be beaten by Juan Carlos Payano.
That is no disrespect to Payano who is a former World Champion, but he has been stopped by the elite of the Division in two of his last three fights and at 36 years old I do wonder how much is left in the tank.
Daniel Roman is also coming in off a loss as he lost his WBA and IBF World Super Bantamweight titles, but he had won nineteen fights in a row before that. The narrow loss to Murodjon Akhmadaliev would have hurt Roman, but I do think this is a bout that has been put together for him to show there is plenty more to come from him.
He does only have ten stoppages from twenty-seven wins on his resume which is a concern about whether Roman has the power to get this done inside the distance like Naoya Inoue and Luis Nery managed to do against Juan Carlos Payano. However Daniel Roman has shown enough to put plenty of recent fighters down on their backside and I do think he can break down Payano in this one and force someone to step in on behalf of the former Champion.
It definitely feels like a fight that may go more along the lines of the Nery win over Payano rather than the Inoue win and I think Daniel Roman will return to winning ways and position himself to have another crack at a World Title sooner rather than later.
Brandon Figueroa vs Damien Vazquez
At the end of 2019 Brandon Figueroa may have lost his 100% record as a professional Boxer, but he remains unbeaten after being given a Draw when facing Julio Ceja. The American thought he had done enough that day,
He hits hard and this does feel like a showcase kind of fight for Figueroa who puts his World Title on the line against Damien Vazquez.
The 23 year old has won fifteen of the seventeen professional fights he has had, but Damien Vazquez has not really mixed in top company too often. His resume certainly does not look anything as strong as Brandon Figueroa's and Damien Vazquez' sole loss came to Juan Carlos Payano who sandwiched that win with Knock Out losses of his own.
The big test for Vazquez is showing he can handle the power of Brandon Figueroa and I am not sure that is going to be the case. The Champion can really get on top of his opponents very quickly and I do think he will get Damien Vazquez out of there to announce that he is ready for bigger fights.
Brandon Figueroa should have the power to get to Damien Vazquez early and I think that will lead to a stoppage in the first half of this bout.
John Riel Casimero vs Duke Micah
If it wasn't for the Coronavirus crisis, John Riel Casimero would have already have had a Unification bout with Naoya Inoue in the books in 2020. Instead the delay has meant he has had to look elsewhere and he defends his title against the unbeaten Ghanaian Duke Micah.
At 31 years old Casimero is unsurprisingly the favourite having last been seen ripping the World Title out of the hands of Zolani Tete in a Three Round whitewash. It was a hugely impressive performance and means the Filipino has won five fights in a row and all of those have come in stoppage victories.
His opponent is unbeaten but a look through the Duke Micah resume doesn't really have many names that standout and it is a big step up for him. He has to be respected having won nineteen of his twenty-four fights with a stoppage, but that may also mean Micah is going to be willing to stand and trade with Casimero which can only be music to the ears of the Champion.
John Riel Casimero may still get the shot at Inoue he is desperate to have, but that means he can't afford to overlook this opponent. The style of Micah may actually help Casimero make a statement of intent in this one and I do think he can win something of a shoot out as he shows the levels that are needed in Boxing to get to the very top and I will back the favourite to win this fight in the first half that has been scheduled.
Jermall Charlo vs Sergiy Derevyanchenko
The card might look pretty stacked, but I have little doubt that best one of the night comes from the Middleweight Division as Jermall Charlo defends his World Title against Sergiy Derevyanchenko.
We have seen this Charlo Twin being on the right side of a controversial Decision in recent times where his brother was perhaps an unfortunate loser, but this does look the most difficult test that Jermall Charlo would have faced.
Sergiy Derevyanchenko has a long amateur career and he has moved into the professional ranks and already taken on the likes of Daniel Jacobs and Gennady Golovkin. He lost both, controversially, and the only really worry for the Ukrainian is that those two tough fights have sapped some of the gas tank.
He is a quality Boxer like many coming out of the Ukraine, and there will be little give as far as Derevyanchenko is concerned. He will believe he is the better Boxer of the two and only the early Knock Downs suffered in both defeats have ended up proving costly on the cards.
Jermall Charlo is not short of power so I am a touch concerned that he could tag Derevyanchenko and give himself the edge by finding a Knock Down or two to swing things in his own favour. The American is a sharp counter puncher and I think that has to be something Derevyanchenko has to be aware of.
However I do really like Sergiy Derevyanchenko and I do think he is the kind of Boxer that can keep the pace high enough to take the Rounds when Charlo is perhaps sitting back and waiting to find a big punch to counter. There is always the chance that the Ukrainian will be three Rounds down on the local cards before the fight has even begun which makes getting a Decision very difficult on the night, but the controversial Decisions already made against Derevyanchenko should be on the minds of the judges.
I have thought for a while that this is a difficult fight for Charlo and only Derevyanchenko leaving something in the ring at the end of his defeat to Golovkin may prove to be the difference. If the Ukrainian has prepared as he did for the fights with Jacobs and GGG, I do think he can cause an upset here and has to be worth a small interest to win this one on the cards.
It would be a huge surprise if Derevyanchenko could force a stoppage so I do think this is the only way in which he can rip the WBC title away, but it is hard to oppose Jermall Charlo as the 'A' name in the bout.
Jermell Charlo vs Jeison Rosario
They tossed a coin to decide which of the Twins would be main eventing this card in the final fight of the evening and it is Jermell Charlo who won out. He will be looking to Unify the Light Middleweight Division with three of the four main belts on the line in this one and Charlo is the favourite to do that.
Most would have expected Julian Williams in the other corner and the easy storyline that would have been able to produce, but Jeison Rosario had other days. In a huge upset, Rosario stopped Williams to rip the belts from him and he will head into this fight with a lot of confidence.
You can't blame him for doing so, but there is still a feeling that Williams underwhelmed rather than Rosario being a world beater and I do think that Charlo will be able to ride out some early pressure to eventually take control of this one.
He may not be as strong as Jermall, but Jermell Charlo hits plenty hard himself and I can see him grinding down Jeison Rosario as the latter perhaps gets a little reckless the longer the fight goes. In the early Rounds I do think Charlo will want to keep control of things and not allow himself to fall into the Rosario rhythm or the fight he wants, but instead frustrating his opponent and exposing any mistakes made.
Eventually I do think Charlo will be able to get himself into a position where he is moving forward and imposing himself on Rosario and he should be able to put the punches together to force the corner or the referee to make a decision. It will take a bit of time to just start timing Rosario and I think that is why Charlo may have to wait until the Championship Rounds to Unify and perhaps end the night as the only one of the Twins with their straps having suffered an upset loss to Tony Harrison and needing to reclaim his titles before.
MY PICKS: Charlie Edwards Between 6-10 @ 6.00 Sky Bet (1 Unit)
Hosea Burton to Win by KO/TKO/Disqualification @ 3.50 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Josh Taylor Between 5-8 @ 2.87 Sky Bet (2 Units)
Mairis Briedis-Yuniel Dorticos Fight to go the Distance? NO @ 2.10 Bet Victor (2 Units)
Daniel Roman Win by KO/TKO/Disqualification @ 1.91 Sky Bet (2 Units)\
Brandon Figueroa Between 1-6 @ 2.10 William Hill (2 Units)
John Riel Casimero Between 1-6 @ 2.50 Sky Bet (2 Units)
Sergiy Derevyanchenko Win by Decision/Technical Decision @ 3.80 Bet Fred (1 Unit)
Jermell Charlo Between 7-12 @ 3.10 Paddy Power (2 Units)
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