Boxing Fulcrum

Campbell Hatton versus Jakub Laskowski breakdown

This is a good learning fight for Hatton as Laskowski should attempt to fight back for at least the first couple of rounds. Laskowski has won fights before which is an improvement on Hatton’s first two opponents who had a record of 0-14 between the two of them. This is understandable due to Hatton’s limited amateur career and isn’t meant as a slight towards him.

Hatton is a come forward all action fighter that throws a lot to the body and isn’t afraid to let his hands go. I don’t think his defence is great but at this lower level that doesn’t matter as his opponents struggle to deal with his pressure due to being novices themselves. Jakub Laskowski looks awkward in the ring and doesn’t appear to have much power. His defence isn’t terrible but Hatton should be able to land on him without too many problems.

I expect Campbell Hatton to win a decision after four rounds due to his volume of punching. His body shots should slow Laskowski down late in the fight as well.

Avni Yildirim versus Jack Cullen breakdown

This isn’t a fight anybody could have seen coming and is probably the strangest piece of match making I’ve seen in a while. Avni Yildirim is coming off a loss to the current P4P best fighter in the world in Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, in front of a crowd of more than 15,000 people. Jack Cullen scored a good upset win over domestic prospect John Docherty but has very much remained a domestic level fighter and at last years fight camp was lucky to come away with a draw versus Zac Chelli who was 7-1 at the time. It’s crazy that Yildirim has gone from fighting in the main event of a packed out stadium versus the number one fighter in the world to fighting Jack Cullen in front of under a thousand people in Eddie Hearn’s garden. Cullen, Perhaps best known for having a north face tattoo has the opportunity of a life time to elevate himself to the world stage by beating a fellow opponent of Canelo. If he can win he should be in for a few big pay days before hes done. For Avni Yildirim this is a fairly big risk and at least to me shows hes likely lost motivation after getting his big pay day versus Canelo.

Both are normally come forward fighters with fairly average chins though Cullen has shown a lot of toughness in his fights and is willing to dig deep when needed. Skill wise I don’t see a huge difference and this should be a winnable fight for both fighters.

I think Jack Cullen will win a decision after ten rounds due to being more motivated and digging deeper in a fight that should be fought on fairly even terms for the most part. Cullen often gets dropped early so I could see that happening then him battling back versus an unmotivated and flat Yildirim.

Can Xu versus Leigh Wood breakdown

This is a decent fight due to Can Xu not having fought since 2019 and Leigh Wood having a style which could cause Xu problems. Can Xu won the WBA world (regular) title in early 2019 and made two defences in the same year. He hasn’t fought since then due to Covid and Josh Warrington losing. Leigh Wood won the British featherweight title recently in a good performance versus Reece Mould.

Can Xu doesn’t have much power but throws a huge amount of punches and overwhelms his opponents. I think his style leaves him open to power punchers with decent chins as he gives a lot of opportunities for fighters to hit him.

Leigh Wood has shown power at a domestic level and even hurt James Dickens who is now fighting for a world title. He lost that fight and was hurt badly but showed heart to stick it out and almost come out on top late. He was also hurt in the Reece Mould fight which makes me question his chin as hes been getting hurt by domestic opponents.

I think Can Xu will likely win a decision due to his volume punching or force a stoppage if he gets Wood hurt though I don’t see that happening. If Wood’s power is world class I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets an early stoppage as Can Xu hasn’t fought since 2019 and has a style open to big counters.

Tommy McCarthy versus Chris Billam-Smith breakdown

This is an excellent fight in the cruiser weight division and the winner should be close to a world title shot. Tommy McCarthy has rebounded well after a TKO loss to Richard Riakporhe in 2019 by winning the WBC International title on away soil in Italy, beating Bilal Laggoune for the European title and defending the European title versus Alexandru Jur. Chris Billam-Smith has also rebounded from a 2019 loss to Richard Riakporhe, in his case by split decision. He beat Craig Glover to win the commonwealth title, defended it versus Nathan Thorley and then beat Vasil Ducar for the WBA continental title.

Tommy McCarthy is the more pure boxer of the two and I would say is technically better. I also think hes much better defensively though doesn’t quite have the chin of Billam-Smith. McCarthy isn’t a big puncher for Cruiser weight and relies more on his boxing skills than power punching.

Chris Billam-Smith is more of a power puncher than a pure boxer in my opinion. His defence is severely lacking and if he didn’t have a good chin he’d have been knocked out in a few of his fights. He is clearly powerful and has fight changing power though will have to land on McCarthy consistently to make it have its full effect.

I think this fight can go either way as both are solid pro’s and have both faults and strengths. I personally feel that McCarthy will box his way to a decision victory but will have some shaky moments in the fight when Billam-Smith lands cleanly. Billam-Smith can certainly stop McCarthy if he can set his punches up well or McCarthy gets lazy even for a moment, I just believe McCarthy will be focused as this is the biggest fight of his career and he should have learn’t from his stoppage loss to Riakporhe which has some similarities style wise with this fight in my opinion.

Conor Benn versus Adrian Granados breakdown

This is a decent fight though I think Conor Benn is catching Granados at the right time as in the last few years Granados has looked like hes on the slide. Conor Benn is 18-0 with 12 knockouts and seems to be improving fight by fight. He’s very creative and good offensively though has some defensive flaws which to his credit hes been working on. Granados comes forward and has some power but is also flawed defensively. I think hes starting to slow down a little bit and even if hes not I don’t see him as a massive threat as Benn is better offensively than him and has gotten better defensively enough to where I don’t see Granados stopping him.

I think Conor Benn will take Granados apart in four or five rounds due to his combination punching and aggression. Granados will try and throw back but will get caught when throwing and stopped while hes hurt.

Anthony Fowler versus Rico Mueller breakdown

Anthony Fowler will take on late replacement Rico Mueller after the veteran Roberto Garcia pulled out of the fight for currently undisclosed reasons. Anthony Fowler has been steadily rebuilding himself after taking his first loss to Scott Fitzgerald with his most notable win being over Jorge Fortea who once took part in a final eliminator for the IBF Super welterweight world title. Rico Mueller is just below European level at Super Lightweight and Welterweight, however he is moving up to super welterweight for this fight. He’s lost his most significant fights and recently lost a fight to journeyman Rafal Jackiewicz, soon after his loss was overturned as five new judges re-scored it afterwords with all five turning in scores in favour of Mueller.

Anthony Fowler has a serviceable jab and is a power puncher with decent timing. I don’t think the undersized Rico Mueller will be able to keep Fowler off him for very long which will result in Fowler winning by knockout within three or four rounds. Mueller taking this fight on short notice also isn’t a good sign for his chances in this fight.

Mirko Natalizi versus Dmytro Shcherbyna breakdown

This is a decent step up for Natalizi who is a talented fighter with a good amateur background. He’s a good size for the weight and possesses one punch power. In his more recent fights he’s started to adjust to being a professional fighter and seems much more comfortable in the ring. Shcherbyna is also fairly big for the weight class but doesn’t have the power of Natalizi or the skill set.

I expect Mirko Natalizi to win by knockout in the seventh round of their eight round bout due to his power and technical ability.

Arslanbek Makhmudov versus Pavel Sour breakdown

This is a match up that shouldn’t have been made due to how uncompetitive it is. Makhmudov is 11-0 with 11 knockouts and has shown huge power. He’s already beaten fighters that are better than Pavel Sour but seems to be struggling to get good opponents to fight him. Pavel Sour in recent years has become a journeyman for heavyweights and has been KO’d in three of his four losses.

I expect Makhmudov to win by first round knockout due to his impressive power. He’s just an all round better fighter than Sour who hasn’t shown a good chin.

Erick Rosa Pacheco versus Ricardo Astuvilc breakdown

Erick Rosa Pacheco is one of the best prospects in the little known minimum-weight division. Ricardo Astuvilc boasts a good looking record of 21-0 with four knockouts but when you look beyond the surface it’s safe to say that it’s heavily padded and Pacheco at 3-0 already has better wins than Astuvilc does.

Pacheco is a skilled boxer who uses his technical skills to out box his opponents. He’s not especially powerful though as he grows older and gets more used to being a pro I expect his power to start coming through.

Astuvilc isn’t good technically and also has no noticeable power. In my opinion the only thing he brings to this fight is a shiny looking record which very soon will have a one instead of a zero in the loss column.

I expect Pacheco to take Asuvilc apart with ease on the way to a knockout in the fourth or fifth round.

Alberto Puello versus Jesus Antonio Rubio breakdown

This is a decent match up between fringe contender Alberto Puello and Jesus Antonio Rubio who scored an upset win over Sonny Fredrickson a few months ago. Puello is 18-0 with 10 knockouts while Rubio is 13-3-1 with 7 knockouts.

Alberto Puello is a boxer-puncher with respectable technical skills and power. He impressed last time out with a stoppage over the durable Cristian Coria who previous to their fight had never been stopped. I don’t think Puello will be a future world champion, and the best level he’ll likely get to is being a fringe contender who could cause an upset or two.

Jesus Antonio Rubio has already caused an upset by beating the capable but flawed Sonny Fredrickson. Rubio is a boxer who doesn’t possess much power but throws a good amount of punches and isn’t terrible technically. His defence leaves a lot to be desired, and hes a natural lightweight. Two of his three losses have come by way of knockout which leads me to believe he’ll struggle to deal with Puello’s power especially as his previous losses were at lightweight while this fight is at super lightweight.

I think Alberto Puello will win by knockout in six or seven rounds due to being the bigger more technically sound boxer who also holds the advantage in terms of punching power.