Long has it been suggested that Stevenson is the best pound for pound fighter in the United States, and certainly amongst the leading names around the world, and he looks to have targeted a fight with Devin Haney next.
That would be another really good fight and Haney may have enough skills to make it closer than his rival Lopez was able to do, but Shakur Stevenson is likely going to be a strong favourite against anyone he faces unless he moves up too many weight classes.
Great Britain was also able to produce a new World Champion when Josh Kelly upset the odds last week and there is now a real hope that he can bring someone like Jaron Ennis over to the UK for a big fight.
However, it actually becomes more likely that he will actually have to face Bakhram Murtazaliev in a rematch after the former Champion wrote to the IBF complaining about some of the scoring on the cards.
That is something that should clear up in the next fortnight, although the Boxing world moves into February with some decent fight nights lined up.
We are going to have a quieter weekend after all of the cards that were scheduled for last weekend, but there is a big show in Liverpool where another British fighter defends his World Title against a Challenger that should give him plenty to think about.
Nick Ball vs Brandon Figueroa
It would be a huge surprise if these two fighters do not gel and produce an instant classic.
Both Nick Ball and Brandon Figueroa are proud of their conditioning and they will throw a lot of punches, although Ball has downplayed the fact that The Heartbreaker managed over 1000 thrown punches in his last fight.
The Champion is right to point out that those were against a different opponent and not against him, but Nick Ball's team have to know that Brandon Figueroa has long been one of the most active fighters.
On paper you would think Brandon Figueroa is going to use his height in a Division where he is very tall, but much like Sebastian Fundora, the Texan is happy to get down and dirty in the trenches and negate much of those attributes.
And that makes this a fascinating fight.
Brandon Figueroa is a two weight World Champion and his two defeats have been to the same opponent, Stephen Fulton.
There are some quality wins on the board in both the Super Bantamweight and Featherweight Divisions, but at 29 years old, you do have to be a touch concerned by the amount of wars Brandon Figueroa has already been through.
Nick Ball has performed well to remain unbeaten and even the Draw with Rey Vargas was a controversial one and Ball had looked to have done enough to win that fight considering he had two Knock Downs during the contest.
A Split Decision win over Raymond Ford saw Ball become World Champion and he is going to defending the Title for the fourth time and this time in front of the home fans. A fighter that might be short of stature, but high in skill, has shown he can use the jab effectively and Nick Ball carries plenty of power, which makes him very dangerous.
He will be targeting the Brandon Figueroa body and look to slow down the active Challenger by breaking him down, but the American hits harder than some may think and that makes him very dangerous.
I do genuinely think the odds are way out of line to the reality- Nick Ball should be favoured, but Brandon Figueroa is massively underrated.
At the same time you cannot ignore the comments from Liam Paro's team about being really happy to have secured the Purse Bid for his title fight with Lewis Crocker- they admitted they were concerned about 'dodgy' home judging and the Twelfth Round controversy from last week and Josh Kelly's win certainly underlines the statement.
Anything close is likely to go with the home Champion and that makes it hard to oppose him.
The cards are very likely to be needed with the conditioning and strength both of these fighters have displayed, although it would not be a surprise if there are some rocky moments.
Brandon Figueroa's output will be high, but the feeling is that the 'flashier' shots will come from Nick Ball and that may swing the Judges in his favour, while the home crowd will also play a part.
If this was a bout on a neutral site or in the United States, the Challenger would have every chance of upsetting the odds, but it is hard to back him here simply not being overly trustful of the Judging.
The chief support comes in the form of Andrew Cain who will be expected to be ordered to fight for the vacant WBC Bantamweight World Title with a victory on Saturday.
He has to be careful when facing a Mexican who is also pushing for World honours as Cain prepares to take on Alejandro Jair Gonzalez who has won six of the last seven fights since losing for a sixth time in his career.
You cannot overlook any fighter out of that country, as many British fighters have found out in recent years, although this is a long journey for the underdog.
Andrew Cain has power and this could develop into a shoot out, but you have to expect the home fighter to show some caution at times.
He can showcase stronger Boxing skills to make sure the Rounds are being banked, but eventually Cain may break the will of this opponent.
However, he looks short to earn a Stoppage and this may just be a card to sit back and enjoy with the main event surely going to live up to expectations.
Boxing 2026: 2-7, - 6.66 Units (16 Units Staked, - 41.63% Yield)
No comments:
Post a Comment