Mariusz Wach beats Kevin Johnson by decision.

Earlier today Mariusz Wach and Kevin Johnson fought over 10 rounds in Poland for the Republic of Poland International Heavy title. Both fighters are 40 and true veterans of the sport so it wasn’t a complete mismatch.

The fight was better than most expected it to be as Kevin Johnson decided he’d try a bit instead of just taking shots along the ropes like he usually does. While Johnson had more success than usual Wach still did enough to win even after injuring his hand during the seventh round.

I’d like Kevin Johnson to retire or at least not fight anymore prospects or actual contenders as hes taken so many shots over the years and clearly isn’t the same fighter anymore. If he wants to keep boxing against other veterans like Wach then thats fine as the fights are relatively competitive and theres less chance of them getting hurt.

Wach shouldn’t fight the top guys of the division again as hes clearly washed up and while he looked good versus Whyte you have to take into account that Whyte didn’t train and had the whole UKAD situation meaning he wasn’t his usual self. If Wach is to fight again perhaps he can fight another polish heavyweight as a sort of passing of the guard fight.

Adam Lopez versus Luis Coria breakdown

This should be a good competitive fight which is nice too see after the Tuesday card was full of complete mismatches. Lopez looks like he could be a good contender judging from the Valdez fight and this should be a good test too see where hes at.

Adam Lopez is an intelligent fighter that can fight on both the back and front foot as shown in his fight with Oscar Valdez where he would sometimes push Valdez back after working out that he doesn’t fight very well when pushed on the back foot. Hes got a good jab which he throws often and with accuracy which isn’t something most fighters do. Hes got good lateral movement and after he throws his combinations he always moves out of range to avoid any counter. He sometimes seems to lose concentration and that or being tired is what I think lost him the Valdez fight though the stoppage was still early.

Luis Coria has a come forward style and seems very aggressive in the ring. He has a good jab though he does sometimes neglect to use it. He also has a powerful left hook which seems to be his favorite punch as he throws it hard and often. He does put a bit too much power on his hooks without setting them up sometimes and he won’t be an especially hard target for Lopez to hit.

I think Lopez should be able to win this fight because hes the more refined fighter while Coria still needs more experience as he loads up on shots and just doesn’t seem to be on Lopez’s level. Lopez has fought the much better competition and I think Coria will be there for Lopez to hit all fight and it wouldn’t surprise me if he got a stoppage. I will say that if Coria manages to connect clean with one of his left hooks he’ll probably put Lopez down as he seems to have a lot of power behind that punch.

Jessie Magdaleno versus Yenifel Vicente breakdown

This should be a relatively competitive fight and should be a good step for Magdaleno who is looking to get back to a world title fight soon.

Jessie Magdaleno is a former world champion who in the past has looked like he could become one of the sports best talent’s. He beat a future hall of fame member in Nonito Donaire to win his first title but came apart when fighting Isaac Dogboe. Magdaleno has a good jab that he throws to the body often and is a good body puncher in general. He has solid hooks and rattles off combinations of 3 or 4 punches when he gets into range. He has shown he can be hurt and dropped and considering hes facing a big puncher in Vicente that’s not a good sign.

Vicente has real power and throws clubbing shots that seem to hurt his opponents even if they don’t hit clean. He’s not the most technically gifted fighter but he does have a serviceable jab when he decides to use it. His foot work isn’t on Magdaleno’s level and he isn’t hard to hit but he makes you pay for hitting him. He can be out boxed as shown when he fought Tremaine Williams though he did have his moments in that fight. He had a few points taken off because he started fouling due to being frustrated at not being able to land very often and versus someone like Magdaleno who can move around the ring I can see that frustration coming out again. I especially like Vicente’s right hook which seems to have real power on it and he throws it both looping and short which can catch opponents off guard.

I think that Magdaleno will most likely be able to use his superior boxing skills and foot work to win a decision over 10 rounds. If this fight was at 122 I would favour Vicente but hes moving up and Magdaleno weighed in at around 128 pounds so he will be much bigger by tomorrow night. If Vicente’s power does translate up in weight then he should be able to catch Magdaleno when he sits just in range which I’ve noticed he does which is a bad habit.

Shakur Stevenson + card whats next for them?

Boxing is back! In standard boxing fashion we’ve come back with a lot of mismatches which saw a variety of prospects and contenders pick up wins.

Robeisy Ramirez looked very good as he took his opponent out within the first two minutes of the opening round. Ever since his pro debut hes been looking better and better and in what was supposed to be a bit of a step up he excelled. I think Top Rank should step him up slightly again but a few more fights at this level would also help his development.

Quatavious Cash picked up what was most likely the best win of his career over 6 rounds vs Calvin Metcalf. In all honesty he didn’t look great and Metcalf certainly did better than the scorecards would suggest. I think Top Rank will try and match him versus one of their up and coming middleweights like Edgar Berlanga and that would be a solid fight for both.

Guido Vianello looked good and seems to have calmed down a bit compared to his earlier fights. They need to match him with someone that can give him rounds next and also up his competition as he isn’t learning anything from blasting guys out in the first round. I would suggest a fighter like Dominick Guinn or even Alex Leapai, these are fighters that should take Vianello rounds and they are also much more experienced than him.

Jared Anderson looked good though he did get caught with a few shots though that should be expected when stepping up in competition after only 4 fights. He got a few solid rounds of work in and I’d like to see Top Rank put him in with a similar level of opponent for his next fight as he certainly had to work to win this one. He looks like a very good prospect however and if they put him in with someone like Don Haynesworth he would finish him very quickly.

Shakur Stevenson looked impressive versus Felix Caraballo who was clearly out-matched but gave it his all. I liked how Stevenson was still determined to KO him even after hurting his hand and his work to the body was a joy to see. Obviously his next opponent will be someone harder but the real question is whether it’ll be at 130 pounds or 126. One defense at 126 would be good or otherwise he could face a contender like Miguel Roman at 130 pounds before fighting for a title once the Super Featherweight division clears itself out as all the champions are busy right now.

I enjoyed the card even though most of the fights weren’t competitive as it was nice too see lots of good prospects progress. I didn’t expect much from the first card back and so i’m not disappointed like a lot of people are online. I’ll be making a lot of content for the card on Thursday so be sure to check back for breakdowns on every fight on the card and more.

Quatavious Cash versus Calvin Metcalf breakdown

This should be one of the most competitive fights on the card later today as both are very evenly matched. They have both taken losses but will look to bounce back in a big way on this card and hopefully get the attention of Top Rank and get signed.

Quatavious Cash doesn’t have much footage online but from what I could find he uses good educated forward pressure to break his opponents down and is almost always the one punching first. He seems to have good power and when he catches his opponents clean they often get stunned and then finished off by a swarm of follow up punches. His defense seems average in that he isn’t too hard to hit but his chin isn’t in the air and he doesn’t get caught that much.

Calvin Metcalf throws a huge amount of punches and aims to swarm his opponents. He doesn’t seem to have a huge amount of power but that may be due to him not putting as much power on his shots as he could. I can’t say that he has one specific punch that he throws especially well but he was landing the overhand right a lot in his fight versus Raymond Handson. He never let him off the hook and actually created some nice angles but in other fights he showed he can be out-boxed. He doesn’t have the fastest hands either.

I think Quatavious Cash should be able to win a decision due to his superior power and hand speed. I think he’ll deal with Metcalf’s pressure and tag him with hard shots as he comes in. He is also the better technical boxer in this match up and unless he succumbs to Metcalf’s pressure he should be fine.

Jared Anderson versus Johnnie Langston Breakdown

Jared Anderson looks like he could be the next big American Heavyweight star but first he has to get past his first real test in the pro game in the form of 8-2 Johnnie Langston. You can make an argument that Langston should actually be undefeated against some decent competition which is why i’m slightly surprised Anderson is fighting him so early on in his career. He has looked very good in his first 3 fights and was one of Tyson Fury’s sparring partners for the Wilder rematch so I understand why his team have confidence in him though.

Jared Anderson has a great jab which he uses to both set up his other shots and also wear his opponents down. In his first fight he destroyed his opponent by simply hitting him with powerful jabs again and again before finishing him with hooks to the body. He has great punches to the body and has KO’d multiple opponents with them. Considering hes quite a big heavyweight hes very fast on his feet and his punches are quick as well. He’s only 20 so has a huge future in the heavyweight division whether he wins this fight or not.

Johnnie Langston has a decent jab which he throws as much as possible. This keeps his opponents busy and makes it harder for them to set up their own shots. Langston doesn’t often put another punch behind the jab though if he wanted to he could its just that he picks his spots to get aggressive. Hes fast on his feet and throws decent body shots himself though they don’t seem to have the power of the ones Anderson throws. When hes in range hes relatively accurate with his punches though his jab very rarely hits the target but that’s understandable as hes uses it to keep his opponents at range when he circles around the ring. He seems to be decent at counter-punching but whether he’ll be able to do that against an amateur standout like Anderson is another question.

This fight might be a bit competitive in the first round or two but I think Anderson’s jab will take over and Langston will eventually succumb to a barrage of body shots in the 5th or 6th round.

Robeisy Ramirez versus Yeuri Andujar

Robeisy Ramirez is one of the better amateurs to turn pro recently though his pro debut didn’t go to plan. He was knocked down and lost the fight on a split decision which is never a good start to anyone’s career. He’s had two wins since and while a lot of people have written him off I still think he can make it too the top.

Robeisy feints a lot which leaves his opponents constantly on edge. He varies his attack to the body and head and also varies the speed of his attack. He’ll throw a jab to the body or a singular hook to the head but then throw five or six punch combinations which means his opponents can’t predict what hes going to do. So far hes been an aggressive fighter in his pro career and breaks down his opponents rather than being a one punch KO artist. He has fast hands and seems very fluid when he fights which is what you expect from a top amateur. When he turned pro he hadn’t fought for a while and it showed in his performance. He has shown he can be dropped but I don’t see Andujar dropping or hurting him personally.

Yeuri Andujar has an amateur career but didn’t achieve anywhere near what Robeisy did in the amateurs. From the fights I’ve watched of him he stalks his opponents before unleashing wide hooks to the body and head. He often leads with hooks and doesn’t utilize his jab a huge amount which I think will lead to him being picked apart by Robeisy. While he does have a jab he uses it to find the range and pressure his opponents into corners rather than as a damaging jab. When he throws his chin is often in the air which leaves him very open to counters as shown in his fight with Joe Cortes where he was dropped in the first round. He seems to be tough though and battled his way to a majority win in that fight which shows his heart. He also dropped Cortes in the next round which showed me he clearly has some power in his punches. I don’t think there’s a huge amount to break down with his style as he’s a pretty straight forward Brawler. Being a Brawler doesn’t mean you don’t have boxing skill in my opinion though many fans will take it that way, Its just a style that some boxers have.

I think Robeisy Ramirez should be able to use his amateur background and accurate punches to drop Andujar before winning on points. He could get caught himself but I think he has the timing and variation in his punching to not get caught over 6 rounds while getting the more effective shots off.

5 Potential opponents for Canelo behind closed doors.

Due to the Corona Virus Saul “Canelo” Alvarez’s fight with Billy Joe Saunders was never formally announced and now it looks like Canelo may be looking for another opponent. Most of Canelo’s opponents get paid upwards of 6 million Dollars to fight him but for his next bout Dazn and Golden Boy are looking to get a cheaper opponent in due to potentially fighting behind closed doors. I’ve come up with a short list of opponents that may suit this criteria however I actually found it harder than I thought as they still have to be some what credible.

The first fighter I thought of was Sergiy Derevyanchenko who was recently in a main event versus GGG on Dazn. Mike Coppinger reported that this was the preferred option of Canelo’s team and it makes sense as Sergiy made himself a good name by pushing GGG to the limit. Hes also fought his entire career in the USA so more people will tune in to see him fight Canelo. I also think hes a very good fighter and for a “tune up” this is still a very good fight. I have no doubt Sergiy would take a smaller amount of money than usual because this would really be his last chance to fight Canelo who is one of the biggest names in the sport and if Sergiy won he would make massive amounts in a rematch.

The second fighter I thought of was David Lemieux. I know a lot of people wouldn’t like this option but hes at Super middleweight, has fought in big fights versus GGG and Billy Joe Saunders and would jump at the chance to fight Canelo. Hes a big puncher and this could potentially make the fight exciting for as long as it lasts.

The third fighter that could potentially fight Canelo is Jaime Munguia. He is the least likely out of the five names to fight Canelo right now for multiple reasons though. Hes Mexican and Canelo has said he doesn’t want to fight any more Mexicans and Munguia is a biggish name himself so may ask for decent money especially compared to the others on this list. I think this fight would be very entertaining and is likely one we’ll see down the line at some point.

The fourth fighter that might get the call is Steven Nelson. This may be a bit of a random pick but I believe Nelson is a very good fighter and because hes unknown Dazn wouldn’t have to pay him massive amounts. This makes him the perfect fighter for Canelo to fight next and him being American means more people are likely to tune in as well. I’d be surprised if they picked him as name value is looked at better than how good a fight actually is.

The fifth fighter I could think of was John Ryder. People will say that if Canelo can fight Ryder who’s from the UK why can’t they ship over Saunders and the difference is how much money they would ask for. Saunders has a belt at Super Middleweight and so believes hes worthy of a big pay day while Ryder is likely to jump at the opportunity after being robbed versus Callum Smith. Ryder will know hes going to be avoided at Super middleweight and I think would jump at the opportunity to fight Canelo even if he doesn’t get paid millions and millions.

These are the five names I could think of that would be relatively realistic. I’d love to hear what fighters people think Canelo could fight next as i’m sure I’ve missed a couple of obvious ones.

Mikaela Mayer versus Helen Joseph Breakdown

This will be the most competitive fight on the Shakur Stevenson versus Felix Caraballo card in my opinion. Mikaela Mayer is a 2016 Olympian who holds a record of 12-0 as a pro. Shes fighting Helen Joseph who holds a record of 17-4-2 but has faced a much better level of competition than Mayer.

Mikaela Mayer is very technically sound and will stick to it no matter the situation in the ring. She has a good jab that she fights behind and will often start her combinations with her jab. She rarely throws more than 3 punches in a combination which leaves her less vulnerable to counters than other fighters but can also mean shes predictable at times.

For me the two best parts of her boxing is her jab and how many body shots she throws. She isn’t the hardest fighter to hit especially when she goes in close to throw hooks to the body. Shes normally the taller fighter but sometimes abandons her height advantage which she shouldn’t do versus Helen Joseph if she wants to win.

Helen Joseph isn’t as technically sound as Mayer but still has a good jab when she chooses to use it. Shes more unorthodox so it can hard to predict what shes going to throw next which could give serious trouble to a very technical fighter like Mayer. There isn’t a huge amount of footage of Helen on the internet but from the clips I’ve watched she likes to throw hooks both short and long but doesn’t throw 1-2’s often. She mixes the hooks to the body and head and seems to have real power as she has actually knocked her opponent out cold before.

She may not be quite as technically sound as Mayer but shes very effective at what she does. She will be moving up in weight for this fight but I still think she likely carries more power than Mayer though she is shorter so will have to get on the inside to do her best work.

I think this is a very competitive fight and either could win if its their night. Mayer will likely try and use her height and reach to keep Joseph behind her jab but will get drawn into exchanges at some point in the fight where she’ll come off worse. Joseph may get caught trying to get into range but I don’t think she’ll struggle too much as Mayer often gives up her height to throw hooks. Joseph will fare better in these exchanges and might drop Mayer at some point. I think Mayer will likely win on points in a competitive bout where she gets dropped and people feel it could have gone either way. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Joseph won but I think Mayer will get enough rounds because of her height advantage to win on the scorecards.

Shakur Stevenson versus Felix Caraballo breakdown

Shakur Stevenson will have his first fight at 130 pounds versus the relatively unknown Felix Caraballo on Tuesday the 9th of June. He’ll headline the first major boxing card since the Corona Virus cancelled all sporting events a few months ago. Caraballo has been called a tune up fight for Stevenson by most people but I decided to go and watch his fights myself to see if this is really a tune up.

The truth is all the people calling this a tune up and a one sided fight are… 100 percent correct. While Caraballo isn’t a bad fighter hes not on Stevenson’s level and his style is tailor made for Stevenson to exploit. Caraballo keeps a high guard while trying to get into range by simply walking in without jabbing. Once he gets inside he’ll throw hooks to the body and head and also uppercuts where he really leaves himself open because of how much power he throws them with. When he uses his jab its not bad but its not quick or snappy enough to trouble Stevenson in my opinion. If Caraballo is to win he’ll need to draw Stevenson into scrappy exchanges where Stevenson’s superior boxing skills won’t come into play. I believe his only way of winning this fight is by KO if Stevenson gets lazy or reckless which is unlikely.

Stevenson can win this fight in lots of different ways. I think what he’s likely to do is what he did in the Joet Gonzalez fight where he’d take a step back and counter every time Gonzalez threw a punch. He’ll make Caraballo reach and then punish him with fast combinations to the body and head. If Stevenson wants to be more aggressive he can apply smart pressure on the front foot and never give Caraballo a moments rest using in and out movement paired with a stabbing jab which Stevenson is perfectly capable of doing. I think Stevenson can win this fight by KO or decision but if it is by KO then i’m predicting he’ll do it by a left hand to the body.

The only way I see Caraballo winning this is if Stevenson doesn’t concentrate and he catches him with one big shot. The biggest disparity between them is the accuracy of their punches. Stevenson is precise and doesn’t waste a lot while Caraballo will often miss or hit the gloves of his opponents. Stevenson should be able to use his foot work, hand speed and accurate punching to win this inside the distance.