We may be Boxing fans, but the sport really does not help itself at times and what felt like a pretty simple discussion to be had is once again going to see the fans miss out.
Ever since Usyk won the rematch against Anthony Joshua, the fight with Tyson Fury looked very easy to make- they have virtually been discussing terms since back in August and things only took a turn for the worse when it became clear that the big site fee was not going to be coming from the Middle East.
Even then we have seen compromises made, but this looks like a fight to set alongside Errol Spence Jr vs Terence Crawford as one that should have happened, but will not.
Oleksandr Usyk will now go and fulfil some mandatories and the biggest fight that he could potentially make going forward looks to be either against former WBC Champion Deontay Wilder or Joe Joyce, the Interim WBO Champion. A third fight with Anthony Joshua would only make sense if the British fighter returns with three or four big wins beginning with his return on April 1st, but that third fight would be at least eighteen months away and there is no telling what direction Matchroom will take when it comes to Joshua.
As for Tyson Fury, the fight with Anthony Joshua makes a lot of sense and a voluntary defence against Joe Joyce should do decent numbers, but I am not sure the latter fight will produce the kind of monetary return that Fury may want.
And so it is perhaps unsurprising that Frank Warren hinted that Fury could potentially retire again, this time by officially relinquishing the WBC World Title.
I really don't know what will happen, but we could get some clarity over the next month.
In that time both Anthony Joshua and Joe Joyce will have completed their next fights scheduled and the mandatory calls for Oleksandr Usyk could be answered.
It looks like Daniel Dubois will be next for Usyk, although there is every chance that his three World Titles are fractured by the end of the year. Any hopes of a four belt Heavyweight Champion will also have been fractured for now, although there is a pathway that could hopefully open up an Undisputed Champion fight in around eighteen to twenty-four months from now.
Here's hoping negotiations will be more fruitful when/if that time comes around as the Division continues to wait for a first Undisputed Champion since Lennox Lewis.
Fights that are not going to happen, or not happen any time soon, are not really my concern as disappointed as I may be.
There may not be any World Titles on the line in Las Vegas on Saturday, but make no mistake that this is a massive Super Middleweight showdown and a genuinely good fight taking place.
Other cards will feature a World Title being defended at Cruiserweight and there is also a return bout for a former World Champion looking to climb back up the mountain.
After a disappointing opening two months for the Boxing Picks, a strong showing a couple of weeks ago have just turned things back around. I still want to improve the 'strike rate', but moving back into a positive number for the year is something to be happy with as I look to back up the strong returns of 2022.
David Benavidez vs Caleb Plant
All of the Super Middleweight full World Titles are held by Canelo Alvarez, but this genuinely feels like a fight that features the next two in terms of the top 168 pounders in the world.
David Benavidez is hoping to secure a shot at the Undisputed Champion with a win over Caleb Plant, a former World Champion who was beaten by Canelo and looking to move into a position to have a rematch.
The winning fighter is likely going to have to wait for any crack at Alvarez, who is likely going into a rematch with Dmitry Bivol if he can beat his mandatory challenger John Ryder in early May. Some may feel that Canelo Alvarez could soon choose to drop some of his World Titles held and that is where the winner of this one could become a full World Champion and try and force Canelo Alvarez into the ring.
Neither can afford to think too far ahead in this one and there looks to be a real life needle between Benavidez and Plant, which only increases the anticipation around this huge fight.
David Benavidez has held the full World Title before, but he has twice lost his belt outside of the ring, which is a real disappointment. However, he remains unbeaten and has worn down twenty-three opponents from the 26-0 record held.
Caleb Plant has linked up with Stephen Edwards as his new trainer following the loss to Canelo and he did produce a memorable KO of Anthony Dirrell in his sole fight in 2022. A former World Champion, Plant will feel he has all of the skills to work through the pressure that Benavidez is going to bring for much of the night, while he has more power than his thirteen Stoppages from twenty-two wins suggests.
Knocking out David Benavidez is going to be some challenge and keeping this pressure fighter away will be tough. Linking up with Edwards as the trainer does mean Caleb Plant should know what to expect as Stephen Edwards trained Kyrone Davis who had a decent showing against the unbeaten Benavidez, even in a losing effort.
This time Stephen Edwards has a fighter who would have had a full camp preparing for David Benavidez, and one who matches up size wise rather than Davis who was coming up in weight. An intelligent trainer, Edwards will be looking for Caleb Plant to set up traps for Benavidez, but much is going to depend on how much punishment Plant is willing to take.
He will have to take some, even if the quick feet and defensive movement should help Plant.
I like Caleb Plant and I think he may be the superior pure Boxer of the two.
However, I do think David Benavidez is the fighter with momentum and he has shown that he can grind down and break down opponents. I know he is talking up his chances of breaking Caleb Plant relatively early, but this will take time and Plant is effective enough to make Benavidez have to reset early before perhaps slowing down in the second half of this one and allowing his unbeaten rival to take control.
David Benavidez is going to make Caleb Plant work hard all night and that will likely see him just slow for long enough to be cornered and stopped.
Canelo Alvarez hits hard and managed to do that against Plant in their Undisputed Super Middleweight clash, and I just feel that David Benavidez may pack a bit more. That is something I think will be telling in the second half of the contest and the younger, unbeaten Interim Champion can force the stoppage of Sweet Hands.
The United Kingdom Light Heavyweight Division looks to be thriving, even if we have yet to see one of those fighters break through and win a World Title. That is perhaps not a massive surprise with Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev at the top of the mountain, but there are still some huge fights between the likes of Anthony Yarde, Joshua Buatsi, Callum Smith and Dan Azeez that can be put together over the next twelve months.
I think we will see some of those and you can perhaps add Lyndon Arthur to the mix who will be fighting on Friday night in an IBO World Title bout (this is an important fight for momentum, but the actual belt on the line is not going to be one that the other Champions will be hoping to hold).
Since his Fourth Round loss to Anthony Yarde in the big rematch following an upset win, Lyndon Arthur has been rebuilding with a couple of stoppage wins. He will be looking for a third of those when facing Braian Nahuel Suarez, an Argentinian with a solid looking 18-1 record, but one who has never fought outside his own country.
Lyndon Arthur is unlikely to need to find his opponent and I do think Suarez has been brought over to make the Manchester man look good as he continues his rebuild.
In his sole loss, Braian Nahuel Suarez was blitzed inside the First Round- this one may go a little longer, but Lyndon Arthur can secure the victory inside the first half of the fight before calling out Dan Azeez for a big domestic showdown.
[UPDATE] After his original opponent had to be withdrawn, Lyndon Arthur will now take on Boris Crighton in a non-title main event on Friday evening.
Facing a new opponent is far from ideal for Arthur, but I still think he will have too much for Boris Crighton. The latter may have been training, but he is going up two or three levels compared to his usual and I think this will quickly feel like a survival job for the step in.
Lyndon Arthur has to show that he is ready to compete with some of the top domestic Light Heavyweights around and he can get this done inside the first Five Rounds of a scheduled Ten.
On Saturday evening we have a couple of cards taking place in the United Kingdom, while there is also a decent card taking place in the United States away from the big card headlined by Caleb Plant and David Benavidez.
I think Michael Gomez Jr is worth a small interest to edge Levi Giles on the cards in their Ten Round bout for the vacant English Title. This is a big opportunity for both fighters who have a single loss between them, but I think the taller home fighter may do enough to earn the edge, although there is a chance there will be some controversy attached.
Frazer Clarke should win his Heavyweight fight pretty early on the undercard and he could soon be joined in the Division by headliner Lawrence Okolie who will be making a long awaited return to the ring.
A much publicised falling out with Eddie Hearn has been making the headlines, and that will also have put some pressure on The Sauce to respond with a big performance in the ring. He is still an unbeaten Cruiserweight World Champion and there is some unfinished business in the Division before moving up to Heavyweight, but Lawrence Okolie will have to shake off some of the ring rust that will come with a thirteen month lay off.
David Light has to be respected as the unbeaten mandatory contender, but I am not sure the New Zealander has fought anyone of this level and Lawrence Okolie will likely have early success.
The Champion has sometimes been criticised for not entertaining the fans, but I think Light will be there to fight and that should help Lawrence Okolie who can score a good, solid first half Stoppage before calling out domestic rivals and other World Champions for Unifications.
Both of the above fights are on the Manchester card, but Andrew Cain will be back in action in Telford on a Queensbury promotion.
The unbeaten fighter takes on Ionut Baluta who is another step up for Cain in his development in the professional ranks.
Ionut Baluta is going to be confident and he is used to fighting in the United Kingdom and I do think he challenges Andrew Cain. He has not been Stopped before despite being in with the likes of Michael Conlan, Brad Foster and Liam Davies and I think Baluta can show enough toughness to get to the cards, although I would expect Andrew Cain to come away with his hand raised.
We will learn plenty about Cain who has yet to go beyond the Sixth Round as a pro, but I think he will pass this test even if he has to take the Decision on the cards.
Jose Carlos Ramirez came awfully close to winning the Undisputed Light Welterweight Title in a loss to Josh Taylor and this is only the second fight he has had in the two years since that loss to the British fighter.
He remains amongst the best fighters in the Division, but Ramirez needs to be more active as he returns as a big favourite against Richard Commey.
The latter was a surprise World Champion at Lightweight, but he was blitzed by Teofimo Lopez and Richard Commey has now won one of his last four fights. He took a pretty bad beating from Vasyl Lomachenko, who urged Commey's corner to pull their fighter before seemingly taking his foot off the gas and I do think the veteran has seen his best days.
Of course you have to expect Jose Carlos Ramirez to have to shake off some ring rust, but he is the naturally bigger man and I don't think he will be as likely to come off the boil if he does have Richard Commey hurt.
As he has moved into the elite level of World Boxing, the Stoppages have unsurprisingly slowed down, but Jose Carlos Ramirez can break down Richard Commey in this one and secure a solid looking victory in the second half of this one.
MY PICKS: David Benavidez to Win Between 7-12 @ 2.60 Coral (2 Units)
Lyndon Arthur to Win Between 1-5 @ 2.37 Sky Bet (2 Units)
Michael Gomez Jr to Win by Decision/Technical Decision @ 3.25 Sky Bet (1 Unit)
Lawrence Okolie to Win Between 1-6 @ 2.50 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Andrew Cain to Win by Decision/Technical Decision @ 4.33 Paddy Power (1 Unit)
Jose Carlos Ramirez to Win Between 7-12 @ 5.50 Sky Bet (1 Unit)
Boxing 2023: 7-10, + 0.76 Units (32 Units Staked, + 2.38% Yield)
No comments:
Post a Comment