Boxing Picks 2025- Anthony Cacace vs Leigh Wood (Saturday 10th May)

The whole weekend might not have been as successful as a combined effort, but it was important for some of the leading names in Boxing to get out and compete.

Ryan Garcia's upset loss to Rolly Romero has disrupted some of the plans that Turki Alalshikh may have had for later in the year, but Canelo Alvarez was able to come through his fight and we finally heard an official announcement for his next fight against Terence Crawford, which had long been rumoued.

The Time Square event did not work as well as would have been hoped, while there isn't much Canelo could have done about facing an opponent who literally refused to engage for Twelve Rounds. William Scull might have received much more respect for his performance if he had looked to win the fight, but it was clear almost immediately that he felt a win would be simply hearing the final bell.

In saying that, Canelo Alvarez did not exactly impress with his inability to cut off the ring nor his own output, or lack of output, and Bud Crawford has to feel pretty confident in earning the upset as he moves up a couple of Divisions.

The most interesting fight of the long weekend turned out to be the one featuring Naoya Inoue after his Second Round Knock Down- he came back very strongly to secure the Stoppage, but it is another reminder that fighters booking bouts down the line can come unstuck by tempting fate.

He is due back out on the same weekend that the Canelo-Crawford fight has been scheduled, although once again a clash will be avoided with the fight in Vegas taking place on Friday night and Naoya Inoue set to be out on Sunday in Japan or Saudi Arabia.

The weekend proved to be another tough one for the Boxing Picks in what has been a poor season so far- there is still more than half of the 2025 calendar year to get through, but it is still frustrating and something that needs to be turned around pretty quickly if the year is to end with another positive number.

May is another busy month of action and the usual mid-summer break looks a little shorter than usual with some decent cards set for June and July. That offers an opportunity for the Picks, although one that has to be carefully negotiated to get things moving in the direction we are aiming to go.

Anthony Cacace vs Leigh Wood

It has been a very different eighteen months for Anthony Cacace and Leigh Wood and that is down to the activity, or inactivity of the latter.

Of course Anthony Cacace has really put some momentum into his career very late on thanks to some big wins over Joe Cordina and Josh Warrington and those kind of wins have just pushed him to the forefront of the domestic scene. He had won a World Title as well, but Cacace decided to vacate that in order to chase the bigger paydays and one of those is coming up on Saturday.

Antony Cacace will be going into enemy territory, but he should be the more natural at the weight class with Leigh Wood moving up following a win over Warrington of his own.

He looked to be on the way to a defeat before finding a punch to force the Stoppage, but that fight took place in October 2023 and at 36 years old, you do have to wonder how much is left in the tank.

Eight Stoppages in twenty-three wins may suggest Anthony Cacace does not punch as hard as some of the others in and around the Super Featherweight Division, but that number has long been dismissed. Most accept that Cacace punches plenty hard and that could give him the edge in a bout where it should not take too long to find the other Boxer in the ring.

This is where we could see the inactivity hurt Leigh Wood and he was being hurt in recent fights.

There also has to be some concern that the Wood injuries have piled up over the last eighteen months and the fighter himself has spoken about his time coming to an end as a professional. No one will doubt his toughness and the home fans should be right behind Leigh Wood, but even that may not be enough to keep Anthony Cacace from building the momentum and a late Stoppage for the more active fighter is potentially the outcome.

On the undercard in Nottingham, Ezra Taylor can get the better of the contest with a fellow unbeaten fighter and he can continue his move up the Rankings with a Stoppage win.

All of the momentum looked to be behind Liam Davies, but he was upset in his last bout and is looking to bounce back against unbeaten Kurt Walker.

This is not going to be easy, but Davies has shown his qualities before the defeat to Shabaz Masoud and he may be able to break down an opponent stepping up a couple of levels.

We also have an event being run in San Diego which features a World Champion defending his title and another bout where an Interim World Champion will be crowned in what looks a pretty deep Lightweight Division.

Emanuel Navarrete has spoken about his struggles to make weight as the Super Featherweight World Champion, but a venture to Lightweight lasted a single fight when he was beaten for a vacant World Title. He came back to defend his WBO World Title with a crushing win over Oscar Valdez, but Navarrete had to make weight at a second attempt ahead of this defence.

His opponent is unbeaten, but at 36 years old, Charly Suarez is stepping multiple levels even if he has taken some encouragement from the fact the Champion is tight at the weight.

However, it is going to be very tough to keep Emanuel Navarrete from pushing forward and Charly Suarez may just find out how tough the World level can be.

There has been a long hope of how far Raymond Muratalla can go as a professional and the promoters are firmly behind him as he looks to pick up an Interim World Title.

This does feel like the time for Muratalla to really put some momentum into his career and he faces Zaur Abdullaev who has won nine fights in a row since his sole professional loss to Devin Haney.

At 31 years old, you have to think Abdullaev understands that he may not get too many more opportunities to join the elite in the Division and that should mean a willingness to push forward and see if he can put a dent in the unbeaten home fighter.

The problem is that Raymond Muratalla hits plenty hard and has been a pretty good finisher when that chance presents itself.

We should have a decent fight between two Boxers looking to move into a position to face some of the other Champions in and around the Lightweight Division, but the expectation is Raymond Muratalla can push through and secure a Stoppage to really make a statement to potential rivals.

After returning from a pretty bad beating at the hands of Brian Norman Jr, Giovanni Santillan should be able to make it two wins from two.

His Mexican opponent might offer a bit more resistance compared with Fredrick Lawson, but Santillan should still be able to move through the gears pretty quickly as he looks to get back with one of the Welterweight leading contenders.

MY PICKS: Anthony Cacace to Win by KO/TKO @ 4.33 Sky Bet (1 Unit)

Ezra Taylor to Win by KO/TKO @ 1.80 Ladbrokes (2 Units)

Liam Davies to Win Between 7-12 @ 3.10 William Hill (1 Unit)

Emanuel Navarrete to Win by KO/TKO @ 2.05 Bet365 (2 Units)

Raymond Muratalla to Win by KO/TKO @ 1.80 Sky Bet (2 Units)

Boxing 2025: 17-46, - 23.70 Units (77 Units Staked, - 30.78% Yield)

Boxing Picks 2023- Joe Cordina vs Edward Vazquez (November 4th)

It was supposed to be a mismatch, but Francis Ngannou forgot to read the memo.

A closer than anticipated fight took place in Saudi Arabia, although the feeling remains that Tyson Fury was far from his best rather than Francis Ngannou being some sort of world level Heavyweight.

He did better than expected, but the said expectation was pretty low and the feeling is that Ngannou would still come up short if he was to fight any top name that has been bandied about in the aftermath of his Split Decision defeat to Fury.

It will mean any future opponent is unlikely to look past Francis Ngannou and that is going to make things that much more difficult for the former UFC Heavyweight Champion- Eddie Hearn has long spoken about the unknown being a factor for Tyson Fury and that has proven to be the case, even if calls of a 'robbery' feel wide of the mark considering the real robberies Boxing fans have witnessed over the last several months, let alone several years.

Francis Ngannou will get another crack in the ring, which he deserves, and hopefully we all all set on the road to Undisputed in the Heavyweight Division. December 23rd seemed a push, even if Fury had won in a Round, but the gruelling contest last week means that bout with Oleksandr Usyk is now expected to go around February.

Once that date is locked in, it should make things much clearer for those who are hoping to position themselves in World Title fights in 2024- Anthony Joshua is hopefully back soon to keep ticking over in his quest to lure a big name like Deontay Wilder into the ring, but the likes of Zhilei Zhang will hopefully look to build on the momentum earned this year and make sure he is not allowed to become inactive.

It is inactivity that is holding back many in the Division, but the hope is that things will change once the Undisputed World Title and the Belts are locked down for a few months.

The card in Saudi Arabia was decent, although it needed better timing with a long gap between the chief support and the main event.

A Heavyweight night will have given winners, like Martin Bakole, a big platform, but it is up to those victorious fighters to take the momentum forward.

While the crossover card took place in Saudi Arabia, a really good looking Super Featherweight World Title fight was scheduled for Mexico.

O'Shaquie Foster defended his World Title against Rocky Hernandez in stunning fashion- if you have not seen the fight, you need to find it.

The Eleventh Round will win 'Round of the Year' barring something special over the last two months of 2023, while a rematch is something almost all will want to see.

All, but not the winner of the main event in Monaco this weekend when Joe Cordina defends his World Title with the potential Unification with Foster perhaps next on deck. All of a sudden, the Super Featherweight Division looks a good one with Leigh Wood entering and another World Champion in Emanuel Navarrete around, at least for now.

Avoiding an upset will open the door for Cordina to take in those big fights he is demanding, while there is also a couple of cards being run in the United States.

Joe Cordina vs Edward Vazquez

After a couple of big time wins and once again becoming the Super Featherweight IBF World Champion, Joe Cordina would have perhaps hoped for a bigger fight than the one he will be facing on Saturday.

In something of a surprise, Cordina is actually defending his World Title in Monte Carlo, rather than a more logical choice of being in the United Kingdom, most notably in Wales.

The whole feel of this main event is that it is to keep Joe Cordina active and not many will give Edward Vazquez much of a shot at scoring the upset. He has only lost once before, but the American is the naturally smaller man and has only won three of his sixteen professional fights inside the distance.

His power is not going to concern Joe Cordina and the Champion should be able to impose himself in this contest.

Motivation is perhaps going to be the biggest opponent for Cordina this weekend- he has made it clear that the big money spinning fights is the focus and this is not exactly an opponent that is going to have gotten many sitting up and taking notice.

He will have to be aware that an upset would derail a lot of the plans that his promoter may have for him going into 2024, but Joe Cordina is too good for that. Instead the hope for his supporters is that Joe Cordina can round out 2023 with a flashy performance and a statement making win and that has to be the target for the Champion.

Power has been displayed against elite level fighters in his last two wins and there are some big names in and around the 130 pound Division that will be able to give Cordina all he wants in the next twelve to eighteen months. That should keep Joe Cordina invested in producing his best in this fight and the feeling is that the Welshman will be able to break down Edward Vazquez and force a Stoppage at some point through the Twelve Rounds scheduled.

There are some intriguing bouts on the undercard, but the one that looks to have received the majority of attention is the rematch between Ramla Ali and Julissa Alejandra Guzman.

The Mexican upset Ali in devastating fashion when they met in June and it is perhaps a surprise that the latter has chosen to go right back in with her.

Julissa Alejandra Guzman will have taken a lot of confidence from the brutal Stoppage produced and she will feel her power will tell again.

Two minute Rounds and Ten Rounders make it hard to find the time to find those big punches, but Ramla Ali is going to have to be switched on at all times and backing Julissa Alejandra Guzman to find those shots again looks an inviting price.

Some of the bouts organised for cards in the United States may begin to separate the contenders from the pretenders in the Cruiserweight and Heavyweight Divisions.

However, there is also an opportunity to see Raymond Muratalla who returns for the first time since crushing Jeremiah Nakathila in May.

With Devin Haney likely to be leaving the Division, Muratalla could fighting for a World Title in 2024 as long as he can avoid an upset here.

An unbeaten Mexican will be standing across the ring, one who has seventeen Stoppages in eighteen wins, but Diego Nunez has never fought outside of his home country, nor has he beaten anyone of note.

He is unlikely to take a backwards step, but that may leave him open to the big punching ability of Raymond Muratalla who can round of his 2023 with another early night's work before targeting big name opponents early next year.

MY PICKS: Joe Cordina to Win by KO/TKO/Disqualification @ 2.10 Bet365 (2 Units)

Julissa Alejandra Guzman to Win by KO/TKO/Disqualification @ 3.00 Bet Victor (1 Unit)

Raymond Muratalla to Win Between 1-5 @ 3.75 Sky Bet (1 Unit)

Boxing 2023: 53-90, - 18.77 Units (265 Units Staked, - 7.08% Yield)