I thought Kiko Martinez had done enough to beat Zelfa Barrett, especially as the latter hadn't really got into any kind of rhythm until the late Rounds. Even if you gave him a couple of earlier Rounds for the better quality punches, it wasn't enough to offer up the kind of cards we saw last weekend and the only hope is that something will be done behind the scenes to straighten things up.
Either that or we can forget about the big World Title fights taking place here as often as we would like.
One fight that was expected to be decided inside the distance was the one between Josh Warrington and Mauricio Lara, but no could have predicted the shocking outcome we saw.
The unheralded Mexican Knocked Out Josh Warrington in the Ninth Round and has not only taken the unbeaten record of the latter, but Lara has ended the immediate hopes Warrington had in taking on the other top names in the Division. An immediate rematch has been accepted by Josh Warrington with the hope it will be in front of fans, but he will also have to show a lot more intensity than he did last week and look to show Mauricio Lara why he was considered the Number 1 Featherweight in the World.
I think that is the right decision by the Warrington team, but I was disappointed with the lack of decisions they made for him last week.
His team should really have pulled Josh Warrington out at the end of the Fourth Round after he was dropped heavily and still didn't look right when the bell signalled the end of that stanza. At some point the corner has to take the decision from the fighter, who will never want to quit, and I am surprised that a corner with a father in it didn't do that for Warrington last week.
Even the referee can be questioned- there is no way Lara would have been allowed to continue in the same state- and I think we won't see the same thing happening as the cards come thick and fast in the weeks ahead.
One bit of news that was disappointing to hear was the latest postponement of the Carl Frampton-Jamel Herring fight which was supposed to take place next weekend. There are a lot of rumours floating around as to why that has happened, but there is a hope it is a short re-schedule needed with the fight now expected to be moved to Dubai and taking place at the end of March.
Eddie Hearn suggested that could be the same day Dillian Whyte's rematch against Alexander Povetkin will be moved to depending on the location of the fight. If it is in the UK, Whyte needs to go through quarantining procedures having been training out in Portugal which would mean a short delay to the March 6th date that is currently in operation, but more news is likely to come in the days ahead.
There are a number of cards taking place on Saturday 20th February and some good looking fights out there.
Next weekend will be dominated by the return of Canelo Alvarez has he defends the Super Middleweight Title he took from Callum Smith in December, but this weekend we have two Mexicans meeting for a World Title in the Super Featherweight Division and that promises to be a barnstormer.
Onto my thoughts on the fights and cards to come this weekend.
Robbie Davies Jr vs Gabriel Valenzuela
After the stunning performance from one Mexican in London, another one arrives on Saturday looking to follow Mauricio Lara's lead.
This is a fight at a level below the one that was main eventing the card last week and Robbie Davies Jr is likely to be that much more focused after we all saw what happened to Josh Warrington.
I expect the favourite will be able to box his way to a decent Decision on the cards in this one, especially as Gabriel Valenzuela hasn't shown the same kind of pop as his compatriot. Like Mauricio Lara, there isn't a lot known about Valenzuela with the majority of his fights taking place in his home country, but you can count on some attributes.
You know Gabriel Valenzuela will be looking to use his power and aggression to grind down Robbie Davies Jr, but the 31 year old has shown plenty of Boxing ability to put the Rounds in the bag as long as he doesn't lose focus as Warrington seemed to do. He can be hurt and has been dropped, but in a scheduled Ten Rounder I think Robbie Davies Jr will play this one more cautiously than he may have done if Josh Warrington had wiped out Mauricio Lara last weekend.
It may pay off for the British fighter and I can see him showing off superior skills which catch the eye and help him pull off the Decision victory.
Florian Marku vs Rylan Charlton
There seems to be no love lost between two Welterweights who are coming in off different showings the last time they were out in the ring at the end of 2020.
Rylan Charlton had no expectation on his shoulders as he faced a 9-0 Joe Laws and that is despite the fact that 'The Pint Size Powerhouse' was also unbeaten going into the fight. Instead Charlton announced himself with a Three Round win over Laws having put him down in the First Round too.
He pushed for the fight with Florian Marku who had won seven fights in his professional career and five of those by stoppage. The noise being made saw him signed under the Matchroom banner, but Marku had to settle for a Draw against Jamie Stewart last time out and that despite putting his opponent down in the Second Round.
Florian Marku was not happy with the judges on the night, but he has vowed to make amends with a much more special performance as the chief support to the main event on Saturday.
Neither look like they will take a backward step and I do think there are going to be fireworks in this one- I am still not sure what Marku is about, but Rylan Charlton won't be hard to find and this is a good chance for one of these Boxers to look really good on the night and perhaps steal the show.
It would be surprised if this goes too much beyond the midway mark with the likely approach both of these fighters will take into the fight and there is enough power on display to avoid hearing the bell for the Eighth Round.
David Avanesyan vs Josh Kelly
It has been a long time coming, but we look to finally be getting the David Avanesyan vs Josh Kelly fight that was originally scheduled for two years ago. Back then all the suggestions from the Avanesyan camp was that Josh Kelly had 'bottled' it and there have been two further dates that have been ruled out by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Tests have been passed and all of the media commitments are now completed and we should get a crossroads fight that has all the makings of a top one.
Even before he turned professional, Josh Kelly has been considered one of the top prospects in Great Britain, but he has not impressed as much as some would have liked in the pro ranks. No one is going to doubt the talent the 26 year old possesses, but the controversial Draw with Ray Robinson in June 2019 shone a spotlight on some of the weaknesses that people believe Kelly has.
Some of that is a lack of an engine to put his best efforts in Round after Round and others believe he isn't willing to let his hands go as much as he should either. Josh Kelly is a pretty big looking Welterweight, but he has not been able to really stamp his authority on opponents and he will be fighting over Twelve Rounds for the first time.
Adam Booth has gone on record to say Josh Kelly is the most talented Boxer he has ever worked with, which is high praise on its own, but the game plan is going to have to be perfect to rip the European Title out of the hands of David Avanesyan who has operated at World level in his career.
A win for David Avanesyan would put him back in contention to have another shot in a loaded Division, and the two year wait to get his hands on Josh Kelly has clearly motivated the Champion. In that time he has two wins over the much talked about Kerman Lejarraga and both coming in Stoppages and the tactics seem pretty clear for the veteran in this one.
Namely that is to walk down Josh Kelly and try and drown the inexperienced younger man in the Championship Rounds and there is plenty to suggest David Avanesyan can do that. Last week we saw Zelfa Barrett getting a Decision operating on the back foot against Kiko Martinez, but David Avanesyan is at a much better stage of his career and he will feel he can pin down Kelly and test the resilience of the British fighter.
Some have questioned whether Josh Kelly has that resilience to last, but the 26 year old has been talking about a Stoppage of his own and I respect Adam Booth enough to believe he has seen something he feels his fighter can exploit. There could be some big fights ahead for Josh Kelly if he is able to find a way through the toughest test of his career to date, but I think this is going to be far from easy.
My feeling on the fight is that it will start off in the fashion the home fighter will want- I can see Josh Kelly using his length and strong amateur pedigree to pick up some early Rounds and keep the rampaging David Avanesyan from really getting to work.
However by around Round Four or Round Five I expect David Avanesyan to have begun to slow down the movement with early shots beginning to accumulate and slowing down Josh Kelly will mean bringing him closer to the kind of fight the Champion wants. There has been plenty of time for Josh Kelly to work on his craft and box to a plan for the full Twelve Rounds, but I do think David Avanesyan will force Kelly to resort to muscle memory and that means going back to some of the poorer habits he has sometimes displayed.
A close Decision on the cards in favour of the British fighter is perhaps the smart play, but my feeling for a while has been that David Avanesyan will find a way to produce a storm for Josh Kelly through the second half of the fight. The big question is how much punishment Josh Kelly is able to withstand, but David Avanesyan is likely going to leave it all on the line when he does get his opponent in trouble and a small interest in the Champion finding a late Stoppage has been my long-standing feeling on this bout.
David Haye had to suffer a defeat under Adam Booth before turning things around in his career and this will be far from the end for Josh Kelly even if he loses.
I think it will be a really interesting fight between the two and one I am looking forward to.
Miguel Berchelt vs Oscar Valdez
Any time two Mexicans get in the ring you know it is going to be a big, tough fight and those bouts are even better when they are being contested by what many consider to be the top two Super Featherweights in the world.
Miguel Berchelt and Oscar Valdez have a single loss between them and it is the unbeaten Challenger who will be the underdog. Oscar Valdez has come up from Featherweight and he was dropped in an Eliminator which is perhaps contributing to the prices for this WBC World Title tilt.
Adding to that is the performances of Miguel Berchelt who has looked very strong at the weight and who has Stopped his last six opponents. Only Miguel Roman was able to get into the second half of the fight and strong wins over Francisco Vargas and Jason Sosa show strong form from the Champion.
I do think it is going to be a very difficult fight for Oscar Valdez, although he is working with Eddy Reynoso and that camp is going to help produce the best version of the 30 year old. It makes me think there will be a strong plan in place for the naturally smaller Valdez, but I can't help but think there are too many miles on the clock and keeping Miguel Berchelt off through the full Twelve Rounds will be too much.
At some point you have to expect two Mexican warriors to stand in front of each other and I do think that is where Miguel Berchelt will display the clear edge in power.
For me the length of the fight is going to depend on how long Oscar Valdez can box to the plan and keep from getting involved in a firefight with a big puncher.
Ultimately I feel Miguel Berchelt will start earning considerable success in the middle of the scheduled Twelve Rounds and he will begin to wear down and slow down his challenger. It could just make it a little easier to begin to unload his big shots on Valdez and I think the extra power will be too much for the unbeaten fighter to cope with.
It would be a big surprise if this isn't a really good watch for the fans, but at the end of the night I expect the Champion to have extended his run of Knock Out wins and underline his spot as the top fighter at 130 pounds.
Otto Wallin vs Dominic Breazeale
A Heavyweight Fight which has snuck up on everyone sees two Boxers at a crossroads in their career having lost two the big three names of this era in the Division.
If he had a bigger name, I think Otto Wallin may have upset Tyson Fury when he fought the Lineal Champion in September 2019 having opened up two massive cuts on the Number 1 Heavyweight in the world. Put the two in the other's boots that nights and there is almost no way the referee would have allowed the fight to continue and Wallin has been speaking plenty about that night and the possibility of a rematch.
He was largely unheralded before the fight with Tyson Fury and so it is hard to really know what Otto Wallin is about. Since the defeat to Fury he has won his sole bout and that means the Swedish fighter has been largely inactive as he has hoped to be talked into a rematch rather than pushing to force that against the now WBC Heavyweight Champion.
Over the next several months there is nothing that Otto Wallin can do but improve his own World Ranking and hope he will be a viable option for whoever comes out of the rumoured two fight deal between Fury and Anthony Joshua. He certainly can't afford a loss to American Dominic Breazeale whose only two defeats have come against Joshua and Deontay Wilder, the latter wiping out Breazeale in the First Round.
We have not seen Dominic Breazeale since May 2019 and that inactivity has to be an issue for him with Otto Wallin at least having a single fight in 2020. It was the kind of Knock Out which can shorten careers massively and it will be interesting to see how much Breazeale has left in the tank as he looks to get his career back on track and perhaps force at least one more World Title bid.
The Heavyweight Division does have a void of real Challengers behind the big names in the Division and so for both of these Boxers there is a big opportunity to position themselves in a World Title shot over the next several months. They may have to wait, but the loser in this one is going to have a much more difficult road back.
Otto Wallin looked good against Tyson Fury, but still has questions to answer. The 6 foot 5 inch Southpaw looks to have the tools to be a problem in the Division, but he has to show he deserves to be talked about at the top of the Rankings and at least at the level behind the big three names. His resume is simply not that strong and it does feel a lot about what people feel Wallin can do in the Division is down to the one performance against Tyson Fury.
It was a huge performance, but sometimes you can see fighters 'over rated' because they did far better than most predicted in one bout and this is a serious test.
While I do think there is a real chance that Dominic Breazeale left something in the ring that night he was obliterated by Deontay Wilder, he has shown a durability and strength that can't be underestimated. The losses to two of the top three names in the Heavyweight Division will hurt, but Dominic Breazeale has shown toughness and resiliency in his career which has overcome some of the lack of finesse he has shown.
I think he is capable, but both will feel they can hurt the other in this fight which suggests we won't need the cards on the day. If Breazeale has lost some of his resiliency you can see Otto Wallin doing a job on a fighter that isn't hard to find, but I also think the American hits hard enough to be respected and won't stop throwing until this fight is over.
Both will feel they need the win at this stage of their career- while Otto Wallin may be the more well rounded Boxer, I think he has shown he can crack a bit and I would not be surprised if both are standing close together and throwing some bombs in this one. I think Dominic Breazeale is the more likely to want to get involved in a fight with Wallin likely to win wide on any Decision, but I also think his resistance may not be what it once was.
However with the punching power likely to still be there, I think this will be a Heavyweight contest that concludes before we get into the Championship Rounds. My feeling is that Otto Wallin has a lot less miles on the clock and will earn the victory, but I can't be confident in ruling out a returning Dominic Breazeale who has found a way to win fights whenever he has faced opponents outside of the very elite.
MY PICKS: Robbie Davies Jr to Win by Decision/Technical Decision @ 1.80 Bet365 (2 Units)
Florian Marku-Rylan Charlton Under 9 Rounds @ 2.00 Sky Bet (2 Units)
David Avanesyan to Win Between 7-12 @ 6.50 Paddy Power (1 Unit)
Miguel Berchelt to Win Between 7-12 @ 3.25 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Otto Wallin-Dominic Breazeale Under 10 Rounds @ 1.83 Sky Bet (2 Units)
Boxing 2021: 2-3, + 1 Unit (10 Units Staked, + 10% Yield)
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