There are some decent Challengers lined up behind Jermell Charlo, but all credit has to be given to the American for Unifying his Division.
He has choices from here- Charlo could wait for the likes of Errol Spence Jr or Terence Crawford to move up and create a genuine SuperFight, or he could choose to move up to the Middleweight Division and see if he can join his twin brother at becoming a Champion at that weight.
Fighting some of the Challengers like unbeaten Tim Tszyu or Sebastian Fundora could be first up for Jermell Charlo, but all the options are in front of him.
Last weekend was also one in which Jaron Ennis continued making an impact in the 147 Division, while Gilberto Ramirez will be looking to line up a shot at one of the top names in the Light Heavyweight Division after blowing away his opponent.
However, there was a setback for Tony Yoka in the Heavyweight Division as he was well beaten by Martin Bakole, despite one judge horrifically calling the fight a Draw. Thankfully that card was overruled by two others and Martin Bakole has set himself up for some big fights in the Heavyweight Division and with a British base behind him, he could soon be having some big bouts domestically.
It was a positive week for the Boxing Picks with some strong results on Saturday helping increase the profit margin on the season.
The biggest priced winner was the Jermell Charlo Stoppage in the second half of that Championship bout, while the likes of Jaron Ennis and Gilberto Ramirez added to the winners.
I do still want my Picks to be more efficient, but I have to be happy with the updated totals for the season.
Kerman Lejarraga vs James Metcalf
A couple of blowout defeats to David Avanesyan saw Kerman Lejarraga's momentum in the 147 thrown out and the decision was made to move up to 154.
The Light Middleweight Division is not as deep as the loaded Welterweight Division and so there is plenty of potential for Kerman Lejarraga to have an impact in this weight class. He has won six straight fights in this Division since moving up, although the Spaniard had to ride out an early storm against Jez Smith before stopping the British fighter in the Seventh Round.
Tyrone Nurse and Jack Flatley are two other Brits who have been beaten by Kerman Lejarraga in the move up to Light Middleweight and James Metcalf will be the latest to try his hand at upsetting the home favourite.
Kid Shamrock was beaten for the first time by Ted Cheeseman when stopped in the Championship Rounds and followed up with a Decision defeat to Kieron Conway, while James Metcalf has been out of the ring for over a year having won his last bout at Middleweight.
Once again James Metcalf is trying to push his career forward by taking a big step up in class having fallen short against Cheeseman and Conway. He did show plenty of toughness in the loss to Ted Cheeseman, but I think Kerman Lejarraga may be better than The Big Cheese and he hits plenty hard having beaten twenty-six of the thirty-four opponents inside the distance.
Since moving up to Light Middleweight, Kerman Lejarraga has won half of his six fights inside the distance and I do think he has carried his power.
A couple of those Stoppages have been earned in the second half of bouts and I do think Kerman Lejarraga is going to have to break down James Metcalf in this one. He should be capable of doing that and eventually getting to Metcalf to get the ref to jump in before the final bell sounds.
There is a pretty deep undercard being run in Bilbao but the only other bout from which I will be making a selection is Jon Miguez' Welterweight bout against James Moorcroft.
It is only an Eight Rounder, but Jon Miguez has been given a chance to beat an opponent who has not really gotten up to this level.
James Moorcroft will give it a go, but he was stopped when he moved up a level in competition and I do think he will struggle to keep Jon Miguez off him down the stretch.
Over in the United Kingdom, Frank Warren has put on a Friday night card at York Hall with some of the younger talent on his roster going out.
Brad Foster has been out of the ring for seventh months since losing for the first time against Jason Cunningham and he has a couple more Draws on his resume too. He is favoured to win this vacant International Title, but Ionut Baluta is going to make him work for everything Foster wants to get out of this one.
I actually think he may have enough of an engine to upset the British fighter having pushed Michael Conlan all the way and Ionut Baluta has the gas tank to make life very difficult for Brad Foster as he looks for better on the cards.
On the same card, Andrew Cain will be looking to extend his unbeaten start to his career to ten fights and the Liverpudlian has stopped eight of his previous nine opponents. He is facing Luis Moreno who was seen in the United Kingdom taking Dennis McCann to the cards, but Moreno was put down late in that one and his other loss as a pro saw him stopped.
I think Andrew Cain will be able to roll through to the finish in this Ten Rounder, but the layers are expecting a very early night for Cain and I think there is some reason to back him to break down Luis Moreno and, instead, stop him in the second half.
There is also Light Heavyweight action coming from Canada on Friday evening as Jean Pascal and Fanlong Meng meet to try and push on towards a World Title bid. The pandemic meant Meng was not able to take on Artur Beterbiev when getting into Mandatory position, but he finally ended a long layoff by winning a Ten Rounder at the back end of 2021.
A Title bid may have to wait, but Fanlong Meng is taking on an inactive Jean Pascal who should have had a rematch against Badou Jack before failing drug tests. It means the Canadian has not been in the ring since December 2019 and that long layoff has to be a major concern.
I don't really rate Fanlong Meng that highly, but I do think he will end up getting the nod against an inactive Jean Pascal. However, if this had taken place a year ago, I may have been much more inclined to back Pascal, especially at the prices quoted for the underdog.
It should work as an effective eliminator with the winner likely to push on towards a World Title shot, but one that may be worth keeping an eye on. Backing Jean Pascal to win a decision at the prices looks appealing, but the two and a half year layoff is not and it means keeping the power dry for a busy Saturday of Boxing.
Joshua Buatsi vs Craig Richards
There hasn't been the kind of ticket sales for the main event at the O2 Arena that it deserves and I think that is partly down to the fact that two of the top Light Heavyweights in the United Kingdom are fighting on a streaming app rather than a platform like Sky Sports.
Ticket sales aside, this is a genuinely good fight between Joshua Buatsi and Craig Richards and the winner is surely going to be in line to fight for a World Title in the months ahead. The Light Heavyweight Division is stacked and some of the Titles are going to be Unified next month, but for Buatsi and Richards this is a huge bout on Saturday to prepare themselves to get in line for a Title shot soon.
Craig Richards has had a taste of the World level having lost a very close fight to Dmitry Bivol, a loss that looks pretty incredible when you think of Bivol's win over Canelo Alvarez earlier this month. That has given Craig Richards plenty of belief ahead of this one and he does feel he has operated at a level that has yet to be tasted by Joshua Buatsi.
Even though he is the underdog, Craig Richards will feel he can give Joshua Buatsi a real test of his credentials and the performance against Dmitry Bivol will add to the confidence.
The win over Shakan Pitters is impressive, but Craig Richards still has plenty to prove against someone who has long been tipped for the top in the Light Heavyweight Division.
Joshua Buatsi impressed in breaking down and stopping Ricards Bolotniks in his last bout back in August, but it has been a considerable layoff for him. He has been a spiteful fighter and does get on top of opponents when has them hurt, while the power has carried into the latter Rounds of his bouts and could prove to be crucial in this one.
I do think it will be a really good fight and Craig Richards is someone who deserves a lot of respect, but Joshua Buatsi can take a big step towards the World Title level. His power and patience has been key under Virgil Hunter and I think we will see more improvements from him having had a number of months to work with the trainer.
I can just see Joshua Buatsi begin to break down Craig Richards in the middle of the Twelve Rounds scheduled and, unlike Dmitry Bivol, I think Virgil Hunter will be urging his man to put his foot down and really go for the finish when the opportunity presents.
I would be foolish to dismiss Spider's toughness, but Joshua Buatsi can be a very efficient finisher when the time presents and I think he will just push down on the pedal in the second half of this fight and break down Craig Richards.
The main event in London looks a really good fight, but the undercard is not as deep as fans would perhaps have liked. It may have contributed to the low sales for the night, but there are a couple of recognisable names looking to get to work.
Alen Babic may not be as good as some believe, but he has been well matched by his promotional team and I expect him to secure an early win over Adam Balski.
A couple of fighters have been able to give Alen Babic a few Rounds in his recent bouts with Mark Bennett lasting Five Rounds and David Spilmont going Six Rounds, but those are some big Heavyweights and could perhaps absorb more than I expect from Adam Balski who has been fighting at Cruiserweight.
He has only lost once so will head to London with some confidence, but Alen Babic is likely to hit him with something very big early and I think Adam Balski may not have the resistance of the 252 plus pound opponents like Bennett and Spilmont. The Savage has not been past Three Rounds in the other eight wins on his resume and I think he can get this one done inside the first third of the scheduled Twelve Rounds and Alen Babic can then perhaps look to move on to a Bridgerweight World Title bid.
After a surprise loss, Robbie Davies Jr won a couple of fights in the second half of 2021 and he will be looking to keep the momentum going when taking on Javier Molina.
At 32 years old, Davies Jr cannot afford another setback, but he has to be wary of Molina who has operated at a decent level and has never been stopped. Javier Molina has not fought for over twelve months though and I think the Robbie Davies Jr skills can see him produce a win on the cards.
Over in the United States we have a couple of different cards which are going to be have main events that could see the winners push on for a World Title shot in the months ahead.
The feeling is that David Benavidez will have far too much for David Lemieux at this stage of their careers and especially with the latter's best work coming at the Middleweight limit rather than Super Middleweight.
Much depends on how much David Lemieux has in the tank, but I do think David Benavidez has the style to break him down and start to put him under the cosh in the second half of this Twelve Rounder.
The favourite doesn't have one punch power, but he won't find it too difficult to find David Lemieux and I expect that is going to be a big problem for the Canadian. I think he will be able to get through a few more Rounds than the layers believe, while David Benavidez has stopped his last four opponents in the Seventh Round or later.
In Las Vegas, veteran Jemel Herring is hoping to upset a young unbeaten opponent as he moves up to the 135 pound Division following his one-sided loss to Shakur Stevenson. Jamaine Ortiz is unbeaten and hungry, but I think Herring may still have enough in the tank to take that one on the cards and I expect him to handle the naturally bigger man who has not really fought anyone of this kind of level before.
An interim WBO World Title is on the line on the same card in the Middleweight Division and I think Zhanibek Alimkhanuly will be able to get the better of unbeaten British fighter Danny Dignum.
The Kazakhstani has beaten a couple of opponents who have reached World level and should have had a shot at Demetrius Andrade, but the American moved up to 168 and an injury means this bout could soon be upgrade to full World Title honours.
It is a considerable step up for Danny Dignum and I do think he is going to have to display plenty of toughness to stay with Alimkhanuly.
Two southpaw fighters may take a bit of time to get used to one another, but I think the step up may be too high for the unbeaten Brit and Zhanibek Alimkhanuly can get the job done in the second half of the bout.
MY PICKS: Kerman Lejarraga to Win Between 6-10 @ 4.00 Sky Bet (2 Units)
Jon Miguez to Win Between 5-8 @ 3.50 Sky Bet (2 Units)
Ionut Baluta to Win by Decision/Technical Decision @ 3.10 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Andrew Cain to Win Between 6-10 @ 5.00 Sky Bet (1 Unit)
Joshua Buatsi to Win Between 7-12 @ 3.50 Sky Bet (2 Units)
Alen Babic to Win Between 1-4 @ 2.50 Sky Bet (2 Units)
Robbie Davies Jr to Win by Decision/Technical Decision @ 2.40 Paddy Power (2 Units)
David Benavidez to Win Between 7-12 @ 4.00 Sky Bet (2 Units)
Jemel Herring to Win Decision/Technical Decision @ 4.33 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Zhanibek Alimkhanuly to Win Between 7-12 @ 3.60 Bet365 (2 Units)
Boxing 2022: 14-22, + 16.16 Units (67 Units Staked, + 24.12% Yield)
No comments:
Post a Comment