We have a huge fight week coming up and I personally can’t wait for Saturdays mega fight between Wilder and Fury. Before that however theres lots of boxing to watch which could potentially be just as entertaining.
On Thursday in the USA Ruben Torres fights Gabino Cota in a small step up fight which i’ll be interested in seeing how he does as I think he is a very good prospect. I expect him to win by knockout but we’ll see.
On another card from the USA this time on Friday Robeisy Ramirez fights Rafeal Morales. Ramirez is a two time Olympic gold medalist and could potentially be a great prospect. He did lose his debut which was one of the biggest shocks in the sport last year. I expect him to win here and hopefully in impressive fashion as he starts adapting better to the pro style of fighting.
A card that i’m interested in on Friday takes place in the UK headlined by Josh Wale versus Iddi Kayumba. Wale has had a very long career and fought everyone domestically and even some at European level. Hes currently on a 3 fight win streak and will be looking to continue that good run in 2020. I think he should be able to beat Kayumba who hasn’t beaten anyone that would suggest he can pull off the upset before pushing on to bigger fights later this year.
Also on that under card a good heavyweight scrap between Kash Ali and Kamil Sokolowski takes place over 8 rounds. Kash is most known for biting David Price and getting disqualified but I think hes one of the better British level heavyweights and could win a British title later on. Kamil is a lot better than his record suggests and he could pull the upset here but he is taking the fight on short notice so whether that will effect him we’ll see. If Kash wins I’d like too see him fight David Allen as both are domestic level and it would be a decent under card filler fight.
The biggest card on Friday also takes place in the UK this time at the iconic York Hall. MTK are putting their semi-finals for the feather and super lightweight golden contract tournaments on the same card here. Leigh Wood fights James Dickens for a place in the finals of the featherweights. Both looked good in their previous bouts but I think Wood should be able to beat Dickens as it seems hes really hit his prime now. Tyrone Mckenna fights Mohammed Mimoune in a fight which puts the two best technical boxers in their competition (super lightweight) together. I think Mimoune should be able to take a decision as long as hes switched on and doesn’t get robbed.
Moving on to the featherweights Ryan Walsh fights Tyrone McCullagh in semi final one. Walsh is the favourite because of his advantage in terms of experience but he does sometimes wait a bit too long for my liking and if McCullagh can keep busy (easier said than done) then he could pull off the upset. The other featherweight semi final is between Ohara Davies and Jeff Ofori. Davies is the bigger man as Ofori is naturally a lightweight but moved up when he was given the opportunity to compete after someone pulled out last time. I think Davies should be able to win this but at the same time hes so on and off when he boxes you never know which version of Davies will turn up. Ofori will really come to win and I hope he does as I was impressed when after taking his first loss he went on the road and won. He then went one better and came in short notice for this tournament a week later and got a draw where he should have won before a fourth judge gave him the unofficial win to move on to the next stage.
Next up on Friday is a card from Canada which features quite a few good prospects. Artem Oganesyan fights Fouad El Massoudi over 10 rounds in a well matched fight. Massoudi is better than his record suggests but is moving up a weight but at the same time Oganesyan hasn’t had a test like this yet. Oganesyan is only 20 and looks like he could be a force to be reckoned with in the 154 pound division so its exciting too see how he does here.
Another prospect/contender on this card is Erik Bazinyan. Hes slowly built himself a 24-0 record which has made him one of the best prospects in the super middleweight division. I’d like too see him step up soon and while his opponent Timo Laine isn’t bad hes someone Bazinyan should beat comfortably. There isn’t a huge rush as Bazinyan is only 24 but I think hes ready for a good step up fight now perhaps against Roamer Alexis Angulo.
Simon Kean is Canada’s best heavyweight prospect and I expect that won’t change on Friday. Daniel Martz is currently being used as a name on peoples resume because hes fought other people that are good fighters but hasn’t actually beaten anyone good himself. I expect Kean to knock him out within 3 or 4 rounds. The last prospect i’m keeping an eye out for on this card is Nurzat Sabirov who fights Ricardo Adrian Luna Flores. Sabirov should win as Flores isn’t what he used to be but really this fight is all about how he looks in winning not whether he will or not.
Also on Friday a card out of Russia interests me that includes Apti Davtaev versus John Napari. Davtaev is being active now which is nice too see as I think hes Russia’s best heavyweight prospect. His opponent doesn’t look great as while hes has a 21-0 record its very padded. I’m just glad Davtaev is getting active and hopefully he looks good here.
Also on the card Aslambek Idigov fights Ryan Ford over 10 rounds in what should be a good fight. Ford is a road warrior that carries good power and we’ve seen Idigov get hurt before. This is an excellent test for Idigov and also a very winnable fight for Ford. Hopefully we get too see more match making like this in the future.
My second last card that i’m interested in comes from the UK on Saturday where Brad Foster versus Lucien Reid for the British Super Bantam weight title headlines. This a rematch where the two drew after 12 rounds of action. Many felt Reid deserved to come out the winner and I agreed. I’m glad we are getting good domestic fights like this and I think Reid will win the rematch. The other significant fight on this card is Kody Davies versus Umar Sadiq in a eliminator for the British Super middleweight title. This is a very even fight and I can’t pick a winner if i’m being honest so i’ll go with the draw. The rest of this card is prospects versus journeymen but notable names are Willy Hutchinson, Dennis McCann and Ryan Garner.
The last and biggest card of the weekend is Deontay Wilder versus Tyson Fury 2. This is an incredible fight and one i’m not sure who’s going to win. While I don’t agree with Fury being lineal champ its still a massive fight and one between two of the top 3 heavyweights in the world. I think Wilder will connect with Fury and KO him this time though because I think that a big part of Fury’s success at the top level is the confusion that people have when they first fight him. I think that if your a top 5 heavyweight and you lose to Fury in the first fight then its likely you win the second because you would have worked him out by then. I think Wilder has his number now but at the same time like most Wilder fights he could be out boxed to a wide decision but so far no one has been able to do that. I know people will say Fury won the first fight but was robbed and I agree that he won but I don’t think a rematch will suit him well while Wilder now knows his tricks and has looked improved since their first fight.
On the under card Charles Martin fights Gerald Washington in an IBF eliminator… somehow. This perhaps shows the lack of depth at heavyweight that these guys are fighting in an eliminator. Both have been beaten by Kownacki but whoever wins this fight will somehow go ahead of him in the IBF rankings which makes no sense and its a shame the IBF are doing this as normally they are the most reasonable sanctioning body. I think Charles Martin will win this but i’m not hugely confident as neither are especially great but Martin is younger and put on a good performance vs Kownacki.
Also on the under card Emanuel Navarrete defends his WBO Super Bantam weight title for the 5th time in under 9 months versus Jeo Santisima. I like how active Navarrete is and that hes always in entertaining fights so I don’t particularly mind who he fights. I think he should win this fight by KO before moving on to a hopeful unification or a move up in weight. Amir Ahmed Imam fights Javier Molina in a fun 50/50 crossroads fight. I think Imam’s power will win him this one.
Isaac Lowe fights Alberto Guevara in what is a bit of a step up for Isaac Lowe. He should win but I don’t rate him that highly if i’m honest though he’ll likely challenge for a title at some point if hes moved well. Subriel Matias returns versus Petros Ananyan in a fight he should win comfortably. Ananyan is a bit awkward but Matias’s power should wear him down before a stoppage in the late rounds. I want to see Matias versus one of the 140 pound champions soon though they are all locked up in fights right now. Sebastion Fundora a 6,5 super welterweight fights 2016 Olympian Daniel Lewis over 10 rounds. I think Fundora wins this due to his size and also his performances in the pro’s so far.
Gabriel Flores Jr fights Matt Conway in a good test for the youngster. Flores is only 19 but is already 16-0. I think he’ll box to a wide decision in this fight. Rolando Romero fights Arturs Ahmetovs in a good fight between prospects. Romero is the much better prospect and I think he wins by KO. The last fight taking place on this card is Vito Mielnicki Jr vs Corey Champion. Mielnicki will likely win by decision and be 5-0 before his 18th birthday.
As always I hope you enjoy the boxing this weekend and that all the fighters get home safely. I’ll be back with my usual preview next Thursday where we have a massive card in Texas too look at.
Boxing Fulcrum 