Boxing Picks 2021- Dereck Chisora vs Joseph Parker (May 1st)

The rumours are that Eddie Hearn is going to be moving his Matchroom stable away from Sky Sports who have helped him develop into the premier Boxing promoter in the United Kingdom and then expanded across to the United States.

Reports say that both Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte will be still pushed on the Sky PPV platform, but the rest of the roster will be only seen on DAZN so I am expecting an increased price soon enough.

With the partnership coming to an end, the suggestions are this May card has been put together to satisfy the remaining clauses in the contract and that meant producing another PPV worthy card for Sky.

Some may disagree, but this is a card that is ridiculous to have to pay extra to watch.

If this was a normal Saturday night card with the subscription fees already paid you would say it is a decent offering, but there is hardly anything of note on the show as far as I am concerned and especially not at the stages of the careers of the headline acts or the match making on the undercard that has been put together that suggests it is worthy of the PPV tag.

And judging by some of the 'drama' of Friday I think the sales are probably not doing anything near where the promoters or broadcasters were expecting.

Dereck Chisora vs Joseph Parker

This is a real crossroads fight for two Heavyweights who have failed to crack through to the elite level in the Division.

That is probably a harsher view on Joseph Parker who has been a World Champion and has a win over Andy Ruiz Jr on his resume, but losses to Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte have knocked his standing. He was actually pretty close to beating Whyte and an early head-butt which was counted as a Knock Down proved pivotal in his defeat on the cards.

Joseph Parker has rebuilt with four straight wins and has been calling for a rematch with Whyte, but an awful performance in his win over Junior Fa a couple of months ago has left a bad taste in the mouth. It was a horrible fight and Fa was pretty happy playing spoiler and getting to the cards, but Parker did not do nearly enough and has decided to change his trainer.

Andy Lee was the recommendation of Tyson Fury and Joseph Parker may have been learning to sit down on his shots a little more than he has been used to. For many years people have asked for Parker to be more ruthless if he wants to really move up the World Rankings, although you do wonder how much could he have learned in two months under the tutelage of Lee.

One element that will help Parker is the style of Dereck Chisora who will come forward all night and look to throw big shots and rough up the New Zealander.

The last time we saw Chisora he was having a better than expected performance in his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk, although the Ukrainian did rock him hard in the second half of the fight and Chisora looked to be running on fumes in the final three Rounds. That will have taken something out of the tank of the 37 year old, but Chisora knows only one way to approach a fight and it could see him open for something big.

Dereck Chisora is likely going to use the same blueprint that Dillian Whyte did in his win over Parker and I expect some rough moments for the former World Champion. However I expect Chisora to slow down after the first few Rounds and Parker showed in that defeat to Whyte that he does carry power through the latter Rounds and I think he could put something big on Dereck Chisora once he slows down.

Most will look for Joseph Parker to get this done on the cards, but I think he has the chance of stepping forward in the mould that Andy Lee will want and really put it on a slowing Dereck Chisora as we tick into the second half. The last two times that Chisora has been stopped has come in the second half of a fight and there are some nervy rumours running about his preparation for this one.

I expect Chisora to put it all on the line early, but that may see him ripe for the stoppage late.

Andy Ruiz Jr vs Chris Arreola

Two Heavyweights of Mexican heritage meet in the main event of a big card in the United States this evening and the reality is that feels like nothing more than a showcase event for Andy Ruiz Jr.

The former World Champion took plenty of criticism for turning up out of shape for his rematch with Anthony Joshua and he was comfortably out-pointed over the distance and dropped his belts.

That was in December 2019 and Andy Ruiz Jr has been out of the ring ever since, but he looks to have made some key changes outside of the ring and the desire to the return to the top of the mountain is evident. Joining Eddy Reynoso and working alongside Canelo has to be the inspiration for Ruiz Jr and if things don't fall into place now they never will.

His opponent Chris Arreola never earned the World Titles, but he has reached a pretty good level in his career although at 40 years old you do have to wonder if there is anything left in the tank. He has come in at a career lowest weight, and I do think the desire is there, but Arreola has spent even longer out of the ring than Andy Ruiz Jr and he has tended to be found out at the highest level.

I don't think it will be hard to find Chris Arreola and that does play against him with the faster, more accurate Andy Ruiz Jr likely to have some big opportunities.

After an early tussle, I think Ruiz Jr will start breaking down Arreola and the key for the former World Champion is going to try and show off his return by getting rid of this opponent quicker than Deontay Wilder, a potential opponent for later this year.

I think he may just do that with Arreola fading, but backing Ruiz Jr to win this fight in the mid-Rounds is the way to go for me.

Bermane Stiverne beat Chris Arreola in Six and Wilder did it in Eight and I expect Ruiz Jr to finish the job around the same time after a firefight.

MY PICKS: Joseph Parker to Win Between 7-12 @ 6.00 Sky Bet (2 Units)

Andry Ruiz Jr to Win Between 5-8 @ 2.75 Sky Bet (2 Units)

James Tennyson to Win Between 1-4 @ 2.20 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Dmitry Bivol to Win Between 7-12 @ 2.50 Sky Bet (2 Units)

Chris Eubank Jr to Win Between 1-5 @ 1.80 Sky Bet (2 Units)

Katie Taylor to Win by Decision/Technical Decision @ 1.61 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Erislandy Lara to Win by KO/TKO/Disqualification @ 1.66 Sky Bet (2 Units)

Sebastian Fundora to Win Between 1-6 @ 2.00 Paddy Power (2 Units)

Boxing Picks 2019- Oleksandr Usyk vs Chazz Witherspoon (October 12th)

Between now and the middle of December there are some very good looking cards with some big time main events that have been put together for Boxing fans (and no I am not including the YouTube fight in that). It is an exciting time as we should have a number of strong weekends to look forward to, although that is not the case this weekend.

Instead it is more of a time to have a quick look at some names that are going to be involved in big fights either at the end of this year, or more likely in early 2020. Two World Champions are in action who have been chasing Unifications without any success in drawing the other Champions into the ring and they will be getting ready to ensure they can put mandatories out of the way and also keep the ring rust from gathering around them.

The main fighter of interest though has to be Oleksandr Usyk who finally makes his debut at Heavyweight, although it has been a difficult road to get here with the Undisputed Cruiserweight king being out of the ring for almost a full twelve months.


Before I get into the Boxing Picks from this weekend and the three main fights I am concentrating on, I have to say a couple of words about Errol Spence Jr.

Most should know I am a huge fan of the Texan so it was a real shock to the system to hear of the car crash he had been involved in on Thursday.

It sounded bad and then the video made it clear it was very bad- but thankfully Spence Jr had some sort of guardian angel looking out for him that he was able to come out of the accident without a broken bone. Things will take time for a full recovery so I doubt he is out in January as was rumoured for his fight with Danny Garcia, but those things matter little when he could easily have lost his life on the night.

Hopefully we will get to see Errol Spence Jr sooner rather than later though and you have to wish him the best for his recovery.


I only had the one pick last Saturday and it turned out to be a losing one after backing Gennady Golovkin to find a late stoppage against Sergiy Derevyanchenko. It was a very close fight, but I think the early Knock Down in favour of GGG just about kept him in front, although it is clear the best days are now past him.

Unsurprisingly Canelo Alvarez is now talking up a third fight with GGG and I think that has to be next for the latter if it is ever going to happen. A rematch with Derevyanchenko could easily go the other way and I think the likes of Billy Joe Saunders and Demetrius Andrade would be confident in beating Golovkin now too.

Right now I am anticipating Canelo will announce that the trilogy with GGG will be completed on Cinco de Mayo weekend in 2020. First off the Mexican superstar has a huge fight with Sergey Kovalev coming up early next month in his move to Light Heavyweight, but regardless of the outcome I do think Alvarez will be targeting Golovkin and a chance to put an exclamation point on their rivalry.

Josh Warrington vs Sofiane Takoucht

After beating Lee Selby and Carl Frampton to win the World Title and underline his position, Josh Warrington just about got the better of Kid Galahad in an awful fight to clear his IBF mandatory.

As soon as that fight was over Warrington was desperate to get in with one of the other Champions, but for one reason or another the Leeds Featherweight has not been able to seal the deal. Oscar Valdez has seemingly moved up to Super Featherweight, Leo Santa Cruz is going to be on the Deontay Wilder-Luis Ortiz undercard and for the sixth year in a row Gary Russell looks set to only have one fight within a calendar year.

It has to be a frustration for Warrington who has been given a chance to return home for this bout with Sofiane Takoucht. Only one of the last ten fights Josh Warrington has had has been outside of Leeds, but he was desperately looking to head State-side this time around.

His opponent is Ranked in the top ten of the IBF World Rankings, but Warrington's mood in missing the big fights won't have been improved when noting that the IBF have put Kid Galahad in an Eliminator position to earn a rematch with the Leeds man. The first fight was very close, but it was not a very appealing watch which was partly down to the tactics employed by Galahad and I am not sure Warrington will be holding the IBF World Title if forced to go in that direction.

This all means he has to win this fight and do it in the style to entice one of the other Champions into the ring with him. Josh Warrington himself realises time is of the essence and that he can't allow his career to drift at this point, while the chance of having a rematch with Carl Frampton is not that appealing to him now without more belts being on the line.

It can't be a distraction to him when taking on veteran Sofiane Takoucht who will head to Leeds with nothing to lose. To be perfectly honest he is not someone who should pose a lot of problems for Warrington having struggled to move above European level and there is nothing in his eight fight winning run to suggest he can step up and beat Warrington at this stage of his career.

Takoucht is a southpaw which could make things awkward for a while, but I fully expect Josh Warrington to keep the pressure on and break down this opponent. The record suggests Warrington will do well to stop an opponent who has never been stopped before, especially as Warrington has only stopped six of twenty-nine previous opponents, but five of those have come in the last thirteen times he has stepped into the ring.

The punch output should remain strong for Twelve Rounds and I would not be surprised if Warrington can put enough together as the Frenchman tires to force a stoppage here. He wants to make a statement so I do think Warrington will be looking to put the exclamation point on this one against an opponent who has stopped less than 40% of his opponents who have largely come at a much lower level than this.

Backing Josh Warrington to stop opponents would have been a short route to the poor house in his career, but Takoucht is a step down from his recent opponents and I think that helps here. Tiredness and a potentially kind corner/referee should be in play here and I will have a small interest in Warrington winning this fight between the Seventh and Twelfth without the need to go to the cards.

Dmitry Bivol vs Lenin Castillo

The main talking point on the Chicago card on Saturday is the debut of Oleksandr Usyk at Heavyweight, but Dmitry Bivol is also in action as he defends his WBA World Title.

At the moment there are rumours that Bivol is soon going to be elevated into the Super Champion status for the WBA, but there are similarities with his situation and Josh Warrington's at Featherweight. What I mean is that this is not the fight Bivol wanted as he chased the other Champions in the Light Heavyweight Division only to be left out in the cold as one Unification takes place next weekend, while the other Champion takes on a big challenger for a big payday.

Dmitry Bivol became the full WBA Champion in 2017 having not really faced too many top named opposition at that point, but he has stepped up his level while defending this belt. Wins over Sullivan Barrera, Isaac Chilemba, Jean Pascal and Joe Smith Jr are all exceptional ones, but all are the types of fights you might give someone building up to a World Title shot rather than when they are defending Champion.

This is all vital experience though and I am not going to criticise Bivol for failing to stop any of the last three of those opponents. They are durable fighters and Pascal's win over Marcus Browne showed that he still has something left, but on Saturday it should be a different story as Dmitry Bivol looks to remind people of his name before the other Champions return to the ring over the next month.

Lenin Castillo does not have a deep resume and his two previous losses have both come against unbeaten fighters including a points defeat to Marcus Browne in August 2018. He did Knock Down Browne, but I am less sure how impressive that is when we saw the American's whiskers fail him in his surprising defeat to Pascal two months ago.

There is clearly some pop that has to be respected and Castillo might be durable enough to become the fourth fighter in a row to go the distance with Bivol. Much will depend on his attitude really as he didn't really show a lot of aggression in the fight with Browne and didn't look to be really convinced he should be fighting at a higher level.

With that in mind I do think there is a possibility that this fight could just see Bivol pressing with Castillo looking to cover up and make sure he gets to the scorecards. That is a big price here, but I think Bivol has a little more power than Marcus Browne and he is the better Boxer who will pick his shots a little smarter than Browne did in that fight with Castillo. It could open the Dominican fighter up for something big that puts him in a difficult place and I think my lean is that Bivol will find the combination to get rid of this opponent somewhere in the second half of the fight.

Dmitry Bivol has shown he can carry his power late into the fight with the Twelfth Round stoppage of Sullivan Barrera, although the majority of his stoppages have been early on. In this one he is going to need time to break down Lenin Castillo while being aware of his power early and I think that is what we are going to see.

Oleksandr Usyk vs Chazz Witherspoon

The long anticipated Heavyweight debut of Undisputed Cruiserweight king Oleksandr Usyk takes place in Chicago this week.

In an alternative timeline, Usyk would have beaten Carlos Takam back in May just a few weeks before Anthony Joshua retained his World Titles in a win over Andy Ruiz Jr. We would then be heading into the fall with the most likely scenario being a Joshua vs Usyk World Title bout, but the chips have not landed that way for either fighter.

While Joshua continues preparation for a rematch with Ruiz Jr to avenge his defeat in June, injury has kept Usyk out of the ring for almost twelve months but the Ukrainian is finally ready to return.

Instead of the fight with an unbeaten Tyrone Spong, Chazz Witherspoon has stepped in at short notice and we only need to look back at Madison Square Garden on June 1st to note how things can go wrong if a fighter is overlooked. In saying that, Witherspoon is 38 years old, has had two Rounds in eighteen months and was disqualified against Chris Arreola and stopped by Tony Thompson and Seth Mitchell when hoping to be a contender.

The last of those was in 2012 so it is not wrong to suggest that Witherspoon is someway past his best and unlikely to really give Usyk too many problems. The bigger question is how many Rounds can Witherspoon get through having failed to hear the bell for the Fourth Round against Arreola and Mitchell.

Chazz Witherspoon is on an eight fight winning run against lower level opponents, but only three of those fights have needed the bell for a Fifth Round. He is going to go into the bout bigger than Usyk, but Witherspoon is not one of the giants of the Division and I think the superior quickness of the Ukrainian is going to see the American realise he is out of his depth pretty quickly.

Oleksandr Usyk probably needs some Rounds, but I think this debut is to make a statement and I can see him looking to pop Witherspoon from angles which takes away any semblance of belief the latter may be coming into the fight with. However this is not a one punch KO artist and even in his early Cruiserweight fights it took a couple of Rounds to warm into the task at hand and only 25% of Usyk's wins have come inside the first four Rounds.

You can't forget some of the high level opponents Usyk has fought though and Witherspoon can't really sit alongside those. The American is saying all the right things, but at 38 years old this is not really the time for Witherspoon to take on someone who is going to be quicker than him and clearly the superior boxer who will be just levels above him.

While the Ukrainian is not someone who is expected to stop opponents very early as he warms up to his task, I am not sure he is going to find a lot of resilience here. Chazz Witherspoon might have an early go, but I think the first time Usyk gets a few shots off we might be close to the end and I am going to look for the Ukrainian to secure his first early stoppage since beating Johnny Muller in 2015.

MY PICKS: Josh Warrington to Win Between 7-12 @ 3.00 Sky Bet (1 Unit)

Dmitry Bivol to Win Between 7-12 @ 2.75 Ladbrokes (2 Units)

Oleksandr Usyk to Win Between 1-4 @ 1.91 Sky Bet (2 Units)

Boxing Picks 2019: 21-40, + 5.87 Units (93 Units Staked, + 6.31% Yield)

Boxing Picks 2018- Deontay Wilder vs Luis Ortiz (March 3rd)

We all love Boxing and so it can be heartbreaking when you hear of some of the terrible injuries that can come out of this sport.

This past week Scott Westgarth sadly passed away hours after winning his Light-Heavyweight bout in Doncaster and the whole Boxing world did come together. His post-fight interview highlighted what Boxing can mean to the fighters and the fans with Westgarth openly admitting he continues fighting for the love of the sport rather than chasing World Titles.

It's the reason I can't stomach people describing Boxers as 'cowards' or battering them on social media when they come up short of expectations. No one who steps into a Boxing ring and is willing to take punches to the face can be a 'coward' and you can only hope the Westgarth family will be able to grieve and then celebrate the life of Scott.


It is a hard sport where terrible injuries can occur, but the love for this sport can be hard to put aside even in the light of horrible incidents. Boxing gives so much to so many and Westgarth's love for the sport shined through his final interview, the same love everyone involved in the sport either as participants or spectators will speak about.


This weekend we have a huge number of pivotal fights with the main event coming from the Heavyweight Division as Deontay Wilder defends his WBC belt against Luis Ortiz.

I just hope everyone is healthy at the end of the night as we look forward to some tremendous fights.

The Boxing of interest begins in Sheffield before shifting to New York where Madison Square Garden and the Barclays Center hosts two separate cards of real note. All of the top fights this weekend could open the door for even bigger ones later in 2018 as long as the 'names' can all come through with wins which is far from guaranteed.


I didn't have any success with the two Boxing Picks made last weekend, but 2018 has been a good year so far and on Saturday I have a number of selections from a very busy, and fun looking night across three venues.

Lenroy Thomas vs David Allen

The two main undercard bouts on the Sheffield bill topped by the return of Kell Brook both look fascinating for different reasons.

Gamal Yafai vs Gavin McDonnell provides the chief support in what is a very close fight and certainly closer than the layers are indicating. I was close to picking McDonnell to win that fight with his experience getting the better of the younger Yafai brother, but I think there are enough doubts about how much McDonnell has left in the tank to leave that alone.

However I will have a selection from the Heavyweight rematch between Lenroy Thomas and David Allen for the Commonwealth Heavyweight Title. Back in May 2017 it was Thomas who got the better of Allen in a Split Decision win, but Allen has got his request from Eddie Hearn to have a rematch.

Allen was criticised by Hearn for some of the preparation for the first fight, but has looked in much better shape in the build to this one. He looks like he will be lighter and more focused on a fight which may be a defining one for Allen and one where a loss could see him retire even at this young age.

Hearn was close to losing all faith in Allen but has given him this opportunity and I do think Allen will take it. However Thomas showed enough slickness and resilience when they fought at Bramall Lane to think he can cause problems for the one-dimensional Allen in this one and I would not be surprised to see the cards read again.

Thomas is the better boxer and so he may do enough to earn the Decision again, but I think beating Allen on the cards will be as difficult as it was last May when Thomas was given a Split Decision in a fight most thought he won comfortably. I was close to picking that to be the outcome of this one, but I think Allen's focus looks better and he might just bully his way to the win.

Finding a stoppage may be difficult for both men- I don't think Allen is very good and Thomas is slick enough to stay out of trouble for the distance of the fight. On the other hand Allen is a very tough man and so being stopped is not something I envision for a fighter who went the distance with Dillian Whyte and was stopped very late, and on his feet, by Luis Ortiz.

The layers tend to agree that the cards will be needed and I will back that to be the outcome of this one.

Kell Brook vs Sergey Rabchenko

Everything about the Sheffield card has been built around the return of Kell Brook who has suffered two devastating defeats.

There is no disgrace in losing to either Gennady Golovkin or Errol Spence Jr, but fracturing both eye sockets, first the right and then the left, in those losses is a difficult place to come back from.

Kell Brook has decided to move up to the 154 limit in the Light-Middleweight Division having struggled to make 147 for some time, but not wanting to give up the IBF World Title he worked so hard to win. Spence ripped that away from Brook at Bramall Lane and the Sheffield native admitted he regretted draining his body to make that weight again, especially after coming back down from Middleweight having challenged Golovkin.

It is an interesting time for the move up considering long time rival Amir Khan has joined the Matchroom stable and potentially opened up the chance for him and Brook to finally get it on. That's still not out of the question, but Brook has to prove himself immediately in a tough Division where the World Champions look like quality operators.

Of course the promotion of the card will speak about how difficult Sergey Rabchenko should be as an opponent and he is well enough known in Boxing circles in the United Kingdom to push that forward. However Rabchenko was stopped by Tony Harrison 2016 and also lost to Anthony Mudine on a Decision when he has stepped his level of opponents.

Prior to the injury issues, Brook would have been considered a step above this kind of level of competition and I do think he is going to come in and show there is something left in the tank. I won't be surprised if Rabchenko demonstrates toughness and Brook may have to come through some sticky moments as he shakes off the ring rust of being out of the ring for ten months.

Eventually I would expect to see Brook beginning to find some timing with his patented 'chocolate brownies' and I can see him producing enough big shots to find a stoppage in the second half of this fight. Fighting for the WBC Silver Belt in this bout will also mean Brook is immediately placed in a strong position in the World Rankings at this weight with a win, although I am convinced Eddie Hearn's aim is to get him and Amir Khan to produce a couple of wins before setting up a grudge fight potentially at the end of 2018.

Brook can do his part and I will back him to stop Rabchenko in the second half of this fight. His opponent will likely get some Rounds under Brook's belt with his toughness, but I can see the Brook power wearing down Rabchenko for the stoppage either via corner or through the referee.

Josh Taylor vs Winston Campos

There is a lot of excitement around Josh Taylor and many are expecting him to move up to World level in the Light-Welterweight Division which has something of a vacuum to fill at the very top.

Terence Crawford unified the Division before making his move up to Welterweight to chase some of the big names in Boxing, while Mikey Garcia is having his first fight in this weight class next week but still has unfinished business in the Lightweight ranks.

Some of those World Titles that were vacated by Crawford will be in the hands of fighters in the weeks ahead, including potentially Terry Flanagan from Manchester, but for now Taylor will continue what has been a big rise since turning pro in 2015.

There is much warranted hype around Taylor and I am a big fan.

Becoming the first man to stop Miguel Vazquez in another step up in level of competition highlighted what many expect from Taylor and that is a World Champion in the making.

This weekend he has to take on a replacement in Winston Campos who comes in after Humberto Sato was injured.

Campos may not have lost since back in 2013, but this is a big step up from the recent level of opponents he has faced. He has been fighting back in Nicaragua against opponents way short of what Taylor brings to the table and travelling abroad to take on a talent like this is a big ask for Campos.

Being a southpaw means he could be awkward, but two of the three losses Campos has suffered have come by stoppage including his last loss to Ismael Barroso who is perhaps best known in the United Kingdom for losing to Anthony Crolla after beating Kevin Mitchell.

Taylor has power and I expect him to turn on the style against the kind of opponent I would expect him to dismiss. He might take a couple of Rounds to find his range against the southpaw, but I would think Taylor is able to get Campos out of there somewhere around the Fourth or Fifth Round. Backing Taylor to win this one between somewhere from the Fourth Round to the Sixth Round looks the call and worthy of an interest.

Dmitry Bivol vs Sullivan Barrera

There are many who are tipping Dmitry Bivol to take over as 'the man' in the Light-Heavyweight Division but there is no doubt what a stacked Division this is.

This may be the biggest test Bivol has had as he faces Sullivan Barrera who still has just the sole loss on his resume which came against Andre Ward. Barrera has since won his last four fights in a row and his wins over Vyacheslav Shabranskyy and Joe Smith look decent enough on paper.

However Barrera was knocked down in both of those wins and he is now facing an opponent who has been blessed with power and who has not been taken beyond the Fourth Round in any of his last four wins. Bivol has ten KO's in his twelve wins, but Barrera has plenty of experience which will test the WBA Light-Heavyweight Champion and see exactly how true the hype around him really is.

It won't be a surprise that this is the toughest fight Bivol will have had in what will be his thirteenth professional bout. So far he has managed the step up in levels effectively and I do think he has the power to hurt Barrera and, importantly, complete the stoppage when he does get him in trouble.

Those early Knock Downs against Shabranskyy and Smith are a concern for Barrera especially as Bivol will look to get after him early, but I also think the latter is a capable boxer who can bide his time.

He may need to do that if Barrera decides to try and take Bivol into the second half of the fight and test his stamina, but I think Bivol will be comfortable in the fight and can show a different side to the way he approaches things in the ring. Being able to start outboxing a Cuban like Andre Ward did in his Unanimous Decision over Barrera will certainly show there is more to Bivol than simply a 'search and destroy' attitude.

Ultimately though I do think the power will end up being a telling factor in the second half of the fight as Bivol is able to break down the older Barrera. The Cuban has been down too often for my liking and I think Bivol will end up finishing the job to become the first man to stop Barrera, although it may come after taking away the heart of his opponent.

Backing Bivol to force another stoppage looks the way to go, but I think it may come in the second half of this World Title fight as he first outboxes and then powers through Barrera.

Andre Dirrell vs Jose Uzcategui

This is a rematch of a fight that took place back in May 2017.

Oh, it's a rematch between Andre Dirrell and Jose Uzcategui and not Dirrell's uncle and Uzcategui just to be clear.

A controversial ending to the first fight was made all the more memorable when Dirrell's uncle landed a couple of sucker punches on Uzcategui after the fight had ended in response to the Colombian being disqualified for hitting Dirrell after the bell in the Eighth Round.

Uzcategui was ahead on the cards at the time and looked to be the stronger boxer and that is why he comes into the rematch as a pretty strong favourite to win the fight.

I've never been a fan of Dirrell but he is a slick boxer and I think working with Virgil Hunter would have been good for him. Hunter has a winning attitude that should get the best out of Dirrell who has perhaps underachieved in his career despite some high profile fights he has been involved in.

His only two professional losses have come at the hands of Brits Carl Froch and James DeGale and Dirrell may feel he was on the short end of a couple of bad cards in those fights. Even then the failure to win a World Title would have hurt Dirrell more and this is his chance to at least get that part right in a tough Super-Middleweight Division where some big fights could await for the winner.

Most had to have been impressed with the way Uzcategui fought the first time out and I think he can be disappointed that he didn't win the fight which could easily have ended on a Technical Decision rather than the disqualification. I imagine he will look to put the pressure on Dirrell from the off in this one too, but I think the American would have learned a lot from the last fight and having Virgil Hunter in his corner should be a positive.

Dirrell should be able to know how to better deal with Uzcategui in this rematch and I think he will end up boxing his way to a success and taking the IBF World Title at the end of the bout. Having a small interest on Dirrell to find a way to a points win as the underdog is my selection from the chief support on the Deontay Wilder-Luis Ortiz card.

Sergey Kovalev vs Igor Mikhalkin

Everything about the card in Madison Square Garden is to try and set up a huge Light-Heavyweight Unification fight at the end of 2018 and the headline act is the former kingpin of this Division Sergey Kovalev.

No matter how you feel about his two defeats to Andre Ward (I thought Kovalev sneaked the first fight and was on his way to a loss in the second before the controversial ending) this is all about rebuilding for Kovalev.

He remains a big draw in this Division and Kovalev was able to pick up one of the belts lost to Ward in his last fight after the belts were all vacated by the American heading into retirement. Kovalev defends the WBO World Title against Igor Mikhalkin having dismissed the challenge of Vyacheslav Shabranskyy very easily in his first fight after the Ward duo.

Kovalev didn't face a lot of resistance that night as he crushed Shabranskyy in a couple of Rounds, but Mikhalkin is supposed to bring in more durability.

Mikhalkin has only been beaten once professionally, and he has a couple of decent recent wins which will be pushed forward. However I don't think he is a legitimate threat to Krusher and I very much think Kovalev breaks him down and forces the stoppage in this fight.

That is what Kovalev did to the durable Canadian Jean Pascal having stopped him in the Seventh and Eighth Round in his two fights against him. Comparing Pascal to Mikhalkin is wrong perhaps, but I do think the latter is going up a couple of levels compared with previous opponents and I also feel he has been given to Kovalev to showcase the latter and have him headline a huge Unification in the Light-Heavyweight Division later this year.

You have to respect what Kovalev is able to do and his power is still there which means the end of this fight could come very early if Mikhalkin's durability is overstated. He simply hasn't fought someone who can hit anything like as hard as Kovalev, although the southpaw stance may jus take a couple of Rounds for the favourite to figure out.

Once Kovalev figures it out I expect his punishing style being too much for Mikhalkin and another stoppage to be added to the record. I am looking for Kovalev to get this done in the mid-Rounds of this one and backing him to win anywhere from the Fifth to the Eighth Round looks about right.

Deontay Wilder vs Luis Ortiz

It has been described as the biggest Heavyweight fight on American soil since Lennox Lewis last defended his World Title against Vitali Klitschko back in 2003.

I have to agree with two of the top four/five Heavyweight fighters on the planet meeting in Brooklyn for the WBC Heavyweight Championship.

Deontay Wilder has long been criticised for a lacklustre resume, but I like the brash American and I think he has not always been dealt a good hand. Having a couple of live contenders fall out of bouts after failing drugs tests is not his problem and Wilder has managed to dismiss any other challenger without too much fuss.

One of those who ended a potential fight with a failure of a drugs test is Luis Ortiz, although his explanation has been good enough to get him back into a position to fight for the World Title months later.

No matter how this fight goes, I just hope everyone is willing to give Wilder his credit for getting with someone as dangerous as Ortiz especially when he didn't have to do this. Everyone is quick to downplay achievements from boxers after the fact, but there is no doubt what a threat Ortiz is considering the number of people out there picking him to win.

Ortiz has looked in great shape, but rumours of a hand injury will be a concern for the Cuban.

From a technical point of view you have to feel Ortiz is going to be capable of outboxing Wilder and the counter punching ability will make him a threat in this bout. He is tough, but Wilder should have the edge when it comes to athleticism and speed, while I also very much believe in the one shot power the American possesses.

I do think Wilder is going to approach this like he did when he first fought Bermane Stiverne- Wilder showcased his boxing ability and avoided being dragged into a fight to win by a comfortable margin on the cards. While he won't be able to completely outbox Ortiz the same way, I do think Wilder is not going to want to get in and blast the Cuban from the ring like he did the second time Stiverne stood in front of him.

The bottom line is Ortiz is dangerous and I expect Wilder to take his time and try and drain the energy out of a fighter that is allegedly a few years older than the 38 listed. Ortiz is dangerous and I am not buying the poorer recent performances as I question is motivation in those fights.

In this one he is highly motivated and there was a time where I thought Ortiz was the man in the Heavyweight Division after Tyson Fury deposed Wladimir Klitschko and then had his own troubles. Two years ago you may even have favoured Ortiz in this fight, but I don't like the inactivity for this older fighter and I also believe Wilder has improved.

I am looking for Wilder to show all of the experience he has learned and steer clear of early exchanges and try and drain the Ortiz energy before teeing off later as the fight develops. He might not earn the highlight reel stoppage like he did in the win over Stiverne, but I can see Wilder just overwhelming a tired Ortiz late in the fight.

It'll either be the late stoppage or a 116-112 kind of decision for Wilder who can then go back to calling out Anthony Joshua even if I don't believe that fight is going to happen before 2019. I fancy a referee or corner stoppage in the Championship Rounds as Ortiz begins to ship a little too much punishment and Wilder can claim the biggest win of his professional career.

King Kong came to New York and gave a decent account of himself before being cornered and seeing fatigue end his resistance. I expect that to happen here and backing Wilder late is the call in a fight that many decent boxing brains see an upset occurring.

Just don't be 'that guy' who claims Ortiz was over-rated if Wilder does win the fight.

MY PICKS: Lenroy Thomas-David Allen Fight Go the Distance @ 2.00 Betfair Sportsbook (2 Units)
Kell Brook to Win Between 7-12 @ 2.75 Sky Bet (2 Units)
Josh Taylor to Win Between 4-6 @ 2.87 Ladbrokes (2 Units)
Dmitry Bivol to Win Between 7-12 @ 3.50 Ladbrokes (2 Units)
Andre Dirrell to Win by Decision/Technical Decision @ 4.50 Paddy Power (1 Unit)
Sergey Kovalev to Win Between 5-8 @ 3.75 Boyle Sports (2 Units)
Deontay Wilder to Win Between 9-12 @ 5.50 Paddy Power (1 Unit)

Boxing 2018 Update: 7-5, + 10.28 Units (20 Units Staked, + 51.40% Yield)