Seeing William Zepeda and Dalton Smith continue progressing is exciting and there should be some big fights ahead for both of those in the months and years ahead.
Both will certainly be chasing the biggest names in and around their Divisions in their next bouts and there are some good options around, even if Dalton Smith surprisingly continues to call out Adam Azim. That feels like a fight that will be in a much better position to be made in twelve to eighteen months time with Smith beating a former World Title challenger and who absolutely should be thinking about a crack at a World Title next time out.
In that time Adam Azim should be able to continue his own development and potentially earn a World Title of his own, which would make a potential domestic Unification a major money fight.
The last Boxing Picks came from Saudi Arabian card 'Knockout Chaos' and it was a huge night for Anthony Joshua and Boxing in general.
The former World Champion did exactly what people felt Tyson Fury should have done against Francis Ngannou and Joshua is now in line to face the winner of the Fury-Usyk fight in May.
That is the next big fight night in the Middle East, but will followed by a massive June 1st card headlined by Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
On the undercard is the five vs five Queensberry vs Matchroom rivalry night and it is a winner on that night that could be the next opponent for Anthony Joshua. While we have not had official confirmation, Filip Hrgovic vs Daniel Dubois looks set to be for a potentially vacant IBF World Title and the winner would be expected to defend against Joshua, while Fury and Oleksandr Usyk perhaps head into a rematch.
The officials in Saudi Arabia have spoken about wanting to host a big fight night in London at Wembley Stadium before Riyadh Season and that being headlined by Joshua vs Hrgovic/Dubois sounds like something that could be in play. It would also be another five vs five card led by the rival promoters Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn and that would be a major night for British fans who have been frustrated that their biggest names have not been fighting on these shores.
Queensberry and Matchroom have still had, and have, some big nights in the United Kingdom, but Boxxer may feel they are picking up any perceived slack from the top promotional companies.
Hopefully by next week we will have news about the long talked about fight between Light Heavyweights Anthony Yarde and Joshua Buatsi, while they are going to have Chris Billam Smith vs Richard Riakporhe for a World Title in the summer. Some still hope those two major fights could be placed on the same card, which would be immense, and Boxxer have a solid looking card coming up on Sunday.
Picks from that one will be on another thread, but the focus on this one is on the first PBC card to be broadcasted in their new deal with Amazon Prime.
Over the next couple of months heading into the Euro 2024 we have some major Boxing nights and this will really put a strong first six months on the board for the fans of the sport.
With the money being invested by Saudi Arabia, many more major nights are expected over the second half of the year too and that can only be good news for the fans. The best part is that some major Unifications are going to be signed off too and this is only positive for the sport, which has perhaps handcuffed itself far too often in recent years.
Now if the governing bodies can take the World Titles from those holding them hostage, it should give the next generation of stars a real opportunity to push through.
This is certainly the case this weekend when Tim Tszyu and Sebastian Fundora fight for two of the four belts in the Light Middleweight Division after Jermell Charlo's remaining World Titles were taken from him.
We need this and the winner is expected to face Terence Crawford next so there is another potential monster fight coming up in the summer.
Again, this can only be good news for the sport and the fans and the only hope is that PBC can bring a bit more activity to the fighters they have under their stable.
This opening card in association with Amazon Prime looks a decent one, although it is a shame that none of the main broadcasters signed it up in the United Kingdom and fans here will have to go through a Pay-Per-View channel rather than having it attached to any subscription.
It is hard to imagine too many buying the card on Easter Weekend with the main event taking place in the early hours of the morning in the UK, and that is the real shame.
At least these fights are being made and on Easter Sunday we do have a non PPV card taking place in London that looks pretty good too.
Tim Tszyu vs Sebastian Fundora
Twelve months ago this might have been a much more intriguing fight than many believe it is now, although personally it is not an opinion that I share.
Tim Tszyu has really shown his character in continuing to take on the challengers he has, even after Jermell Charlo strung him along and eventually pulled out of defending his Light Middleweight World Titles against the Australian. Some may have waited, but Tszyu continued to develop and Charlo has shown little appetite for taking on a fighter that may have progressed beyond him now.
It is still a potential Super-Fight, even after Charlo was well beaten by Canelo Alvarez in a surprise bid to win the Super Middleweight World Titles, but Tim Tszyu is not thinking about that and instead focusing on his own career.
Over the last twelve months, Tim Tszyu has beaten Tony Harrison, Carlos Ocampo and Brian Mendoza and he has picked up the WBO World Title, albeit not exactly in the manner he would have hoped. Now he has an opportunity to add the WBC World Title to his collection and with the carrot at the end of the stick being a potential defence against Terence Crawford next, which is potentially a tougher fight than facing Jermell Charlo even if Bud is coming up in weight.
The win over Brian Mendoza last time out stands out as it might have been Sebastian Fundora in the opposite corner if things had been different.
The Towering Inferno won the interim WBC World Title when beating Erickson Lubin in a really good fight and he then defended it against the aforementioned Carlos Ocampo. However, Sebastian Fundora's unbeaten run and interim World Title were ripped away from him by Brian Mendoza in a brutal Seventh Round Knock Out.
Eleven months have passed since Sebastian Fundora's defeat, but he has been given this opportunity after Keith Thurman was forced to withdraw from his scheduled fight with Tim Tszyu. He had been preparing for a fight on the undercard so there won't be many excuses for Sebastian Fundora to not be in shape, and it does feel the much bigger adjustments have to be made by Tszyu on relatively short notice.
Straight out of the gate is the huge size disadvantage with Sebastian Fundora having dimensions that you would expect from a big Light Heavyweight. It is still quite remarkable that he is making 154 pounds at almost 6'6 in height, although the criticism has long been that Fundora does not make use of his length as he should.
That will help Tim Tszyu who has shown his strength in close quarters and there have definitely been some vulnerabilities about Sebastian Fundora that the Australian can exploit.
The manner of the Knock Out defeat eleven months ago is hard to ignore- you do have to wonder what that has taken from Sebastian Fundora and the inactivity since is not ideal when facing someone like Tim Tszyu.
My expectation is that this is going to be a rough, stand in the trenches kind of fight, but the Knock Out loss suffered by Sebastian Fundora may have snapped some of the aura around him. Erickson Lubin had him seriously hurt and there is little doubt that Tim Tszyu has harder punches than both Lubin and Brian Mendoza and he has shown enough resiliency to whatever has come back his way.
Sebastian Fundora may have his moments, but Tim Tszyu looks to be improving all of the time and he is expected to break through the taller man with some big shots both to the head and body.
Unless something drastically has changed, Sebastian Fundora is likely going to stand right in front of Tim Tszyu and that is likely to be a poor game plan against a fighter that will be looking to make a statement to Jermell Charlo, Terence Crawford or whoever may be next on his hit list.
Both Lubin and Mendoza put Sebastian Fundora down in the Seventh Round, the latter for good, and Tim Tszyu may be able to do so in and around the same kind of time. He did have to break down Tony Harrison late on and got to Carlos Ocampo very early, but this time there is some feeling of this developing into a fight in a phone booth type of contest and the Australian can come out on top in the mid-Rounds.
A solid undercard has been put together and fighters looking to get into the World Title mix in the Light Middleweight Division will face off when Brian Mendoza returns to face Serhii Bohachuk, who was Fundora's original opponent on the card.
The odds favour Bohachuk, but this should be a decent scrap to watch and Brian Mendoza has had a taste of fighting for World Titles and will want to come again.
You have to believe Serhii Bohachuk will come out on top, but the big test for him is whether he can keep up his run of twenty-three wins and twenty-three Stoppages. The Ukrainian was upset by Brandon Adams so this is a fight Mendoza will feel he can win and one to enjoy.
Erislandy Lara should have too much for Michael Zerafa in a Middleweight bout for the WBA World Title held by the former. However, inactivity from both veterans is hardly ideal preparation, and that should mean Lara is able to defend his World Title on the cards.
Julio Cesar Martinez has not really kicked on his career as would have once been hoped and he has not really looked the same fighter since losing handily to Chocolatito in March 2022.
This is his third fight since then and he is facing an unbeaten opponent in Angelino Cordova, which is a potential banana skin for the Champion. He should still win, and it may just be worth a small interest on the Champion getting this one finished in the Championship Rounds.
The chief supporting bout on this card is between Rolly Romero and Isaac Cruz, two fighters who have suffered recent losses to Gervonta Davis and who have been chasing that rematch with Tank since.
Both fighters are perhaps living off their performances against Tank Davis- Isaac Cruz was the more impressive of the two, but that is perhaps the reason he is such a strong favourite in this one.
He did not look at his best in a Split Decision win last time out and Isaac Cruz is moving up in weight to take on the WBA Light-Welterweight Champion, while he has been relatively inactive.
However, his last fight did take place since we last saw Rolly Romero in the ring in his controversial win over veteran Ismael Barroso.
Injuries have forced Romero to spend some time out of the ring and the winner of this one is expected to take on Barroso, who has won the interim title in Romero's extended absence.
The feeling has long been that Rolly Romero may be one of the weakest World Champions there has been for some time and it is hard to imagine him keeping Isaac Cruz from building up some steam.
Barring a massive improvement from the performance against Ismael Barroso, this does feel like decent match making from Isaac Cruz and his team. Moving up in weight means dealing with heavier hands than he is used to, but Cruz should be able to land plenty of his own against an opponent who is not nearly as good as he thinks he is.
Ismael Barroso ran out of steam and this allowed Tony Weeks to make his bogus call to stop the fight, even when the veteran was not hurt. It is incredibly unlikely that Isaac Cruz is going to slip away in this one and he may just find the big shots after the halfway mark that may end up seeing him become a new World Champion without the need to hear the scorecards.
The PBC card is the big one on the night, but we do have another World Title being contested in California when Gilberto Ramirez faces Arsen Goulamirian for the WBA Cruiserweight World Title.
The Mexican bounced back from a comfortable defeat to Dmitry Bivol at Light Heavyweight to beat Joe Smith Jr at Cruiserweight. However, this is the first genuine Cruiserweight Gilberto Ramirez will have faced and a Champion that is unbeaten.
In saying that, Arsen Goulamirian has been inactive through injury and delayed fights and you can understand why Ramirez has been set as the favourite. The money has been coming in on the Champion though and it may be a fight where the winner ends up Unifying against the upcoming Chris Billam-Smith vs Richard Riakporhe II bout in the United Kingdom.
A more active Goulamirian would likely have too much for Gilberto Ramirez, but he still looks a considerable price for the 'upset' even as the away fighter.
On Friday evening there is another Top Rank card taking place and headlined by Oscar Valdez who returns after losing by a comfortable margin against Emanuel Navarrete last August.
That is the second loss in three fights, albeit against Navarrete and Shakur Stevenson, but Oscar Valdez has the chance to pick up an interim World Title in the Super Featherweight Division.
He faces Liam Wilson, who impressed in a losing effort against the aforementioned Navarrete in February 2023 when trying to win the full World Title in this Division. The winner of this one is likely going to be upgraded to full World Champion once it becomes clear what Emanuel Navarrete wants to do going forward, and Wilson has been active enough to win two fights in a row since losing to the Mexican.
You would have to give the edge to Valdez, although this is a fighter who has not looked the same since popping in a failed drugs test.
The power has not been the same, but Wilson's two defeats have both been inside the distance and Oscar Valdez may just be able to wear him down in what could be a really good main event.
There are some decent looking fights on the undercard, but a future headliner is the one looking to get that much closer to a World Title fight.
Raymond Muratalla wants to get to that level as soon as possible in the tough Lightweight Division and there are some potentially big names lined up to fight him.
He has to keep things ticking along and Muratalla can break down and Stop Xolisani Ndongeni.
Arnold Barboza Jr Stopped the South African in January in the Eighth Round, but that was also up at Light-Welterweight.
You do have to wonder if getting down to the 135 pound limit for the first time since 2019 is going to have taken something from the tank, but Raymond Muratalla is much more patient in his work and won't rush anything.
If it comes he will go through the gears, but Raymond Muratalla may have to wait until just after halfway for his shots to really make a telling contribution and he can avoid having to hear the scorecards for just the fourth time in his professional career.
MY PICKS: Tim Tszyu to Win Between 5-8 @ 3.20 Bet365 (1 Unit)
Erislandy Lara to Win by Decision/Technical Decision @ 2.25 Sky Bet (2 Units)
Julio Cesar Martinez to Win Between 7-12 @ 4.00 Sky Bet (1 Unit)
Isaac Cruz to Win Between 7-12 @ 3.20 Coral (1 Unit)
Arsen Goulamirian to Win @ 2.75 Sky Bet (1 Unit)
Raymond Muratalla to Win Between 6-10 @ 2.87 Sky Bet (1 Unit)
Boxing 2024: 13-16, + 11.52 Units (45 Units Staked, + 25.60% Yield)
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