This is a well matched fight between Ligas who is a prospect on the rise and Dagayloan who has been a pro for ten years. Bienvenido Ligas is a solid prospect who only has one loss two years ago when he was only 20. Alphoe Dagayloan has had a lot of success domestically and is 1-1 when going on the road.
Bienvenido Ligas is decent technically but does overextend on his punches sometimes. He has some power but nothing out of the ordinary and his record makes him look like a bigger puncher than he is. He works well to the body and throws in combination the majority of the time. He doesn’t jab very often and has slow footwork and head movement but he is young so can improve. So far he hasn’t faced a great level of competition and this is his big step up.
Bienvenido Ligas
Alphoe Dagayloan isn’t great technically but he’s a come forward fighter who doesn’t slow down. He’s very aggressive and possesses decent power though due to his technique he doesn’t punch as hard as he should. His defence is what you expect of a brawler however he does try to avoid punches and keeps his hands up the majority of the time. He has a vast wealth of experience against good opponents and has over 100 more rounds boxed than Ligas.
I think Dagayloan will win a decision after twelve rounds due to his experience and relentless style. I don’t think Ligas has the power to keep him off and will end up getting outworked over the distance by the bullish Dagayloan.
At the weigh in today Joseph “JoJo” Diaz came in 3.6 pounds overweight for his first defence of his super featherweight world title. The limit for the division is 130 and Diaz came in hugely overweight at 133.6.
This is hugely disappointing as it means hes stripped of his world title and if he wins on Saturday the title will stay vacant with the next two in line challenging for it. If Diaz had won this fight it’s likely he would have headed into a unification fight or a mega fight and pay day versus Gervonta Davis. Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov made weight and will be the only one of the two who can win the title. He’s also gained an extra 50,000 dollars on his purse due to Diaz missing weight while Diaz was fined 100,000.
I was already picking Rakhimov to win but Diaz weighing in heavy and also not looking to be in great shape has made me more confident that Rakhimov will win. Even if he loses its likely the IBF will give him another shot due to Diaz coming in heavy. I’m hoping that Rakhimov wins and the cards are fair as I’d rather the title wasn’t vacant.
I think this is the best fight of the weekend by far as it features two top 10 guys going at it in a real competitive match up. Joseph Diaz is defending his IBF Super Featherweight title for the first time versus his mandatory challenger Rakhimov.
Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov was a good amateur and like most high level amateurs has good technique. He’s strong and has a lot of power though doesn’t throw massive amounts of punches. He still throws a good amount but he isn’t a massive volume type of guy. He works to the body well and his hooks seem to do real damage when he digs them in. His style is centered on him pressuring his opponents constantly and wearing them down both physically and mentally which he does well. His defence is centered around blocking rather than evading and this leads to him sometimes being out boxed for periods of time. So far he hasn’t faced the level of competition that Joseph Diaz has however he has traveled and fought as the B-side before.
Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov
Joseph Diaz was also a very good amateur but went one step further than Rakhimov and went to the 2012 Olympics. He’s got good technique and like Rakhimov his defence mostly consists of blocking rather than evading. He’s not a big puncher and most of his stoppages have been over time and due to being so much better than his opponents. I think he has great left hooks which he times well and him being a southpaw could make Rakhimov struggle as he has struggled with southpaws in the past. It could go the other way and Rakhimov could deal well with Diaz being a southpaw as he recently fought another good southpaw. He is smaller and isn’t as strong as Rakhimov however has much more top level experience and may have the better footwork.
Joseph “JoJo” Diaz
I think this is a very even fight however I give the slight edge to Rakhimov due to him being bigger and having more power. I think his body shots will slow Diaz down in the second half similar to what happened in the Gary Russell Jr fight. I think Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov will deserve to win a decision but will likely get robbed by the judges due to not being American and fighting in America as the B-side.
This should be a fairly easy fight for Melian who is having his second comeback fight after losing to Oscar Negrete in America. Molina is having his first fight in two years and has been a journeyman domestic fighter in Argentina throughout his career before he was brought to fight in America twice and lose to big time prospects Murodjon Akhmadaliev and Michael Conlan. Akhmadaliev has won a world title now and Conlan will likely challenge for one so there is no shame in losing to them especially by decision.
Alberto Ezequiel Melian is a decent fighter who has a good grasp of the fundamentals of boxing. He was a 2016 Olympian and had a good amateur career though hasn’t been able to find that success in the pro’s. His defence is solid because he normally keeps a high guard but like many fighters that let their hands go in combination he is available to hit. It doesn’t help that he’ll stand in front of his opponents and just take their punches before firing back instead of trying to evade and counter. I think hes shown hes fringe world level and I thought his last loss honestly could have been given to him or the scorecards could have been closer.
Luis Fernado Molina is a tough but limited fighter. He’s not technically great and throws a lot of arm punches rather than turning into his shots. When he steps up in competition he generally shells up and doesn’t throw a whole lot. I think his defence is actually decent as he rides a lot of the punches by turning away at the last second but lacks the boxing ability to then counter after he makes his opponents overextend.
Luis Fernando Molina
I think Alberto Ezequiel Melian will win a decision after ten rounds due to throwing more punches and having the better technique. I also think the overhand rights that Melian throws will land easily on Molina who doesn’t block a lot using his gloves. I expect Molina to shell up and not throw enough to win rounds just enough to survive to the end.
I think this is a bit of a step down for Smith who had a harder fight last time out however its understandable as his original opponent didn’t make it to the fight. Ishmael Ellis is a domestic fighter who has lost every time hes stepped up though has normally given a decent account of himself.
Dalton Smith is good technically and had a successful international amateur career before turning pro. He has a decent jab though doesn’t use it to set up all his punches. His defence is generally adequate however like any fighter he’ll get hit occasionally. I think hes shown power and has shown he wants to finish fights as soon as possible.
Ishmael Ellis isn’t as good technically and gets backed up too easily. When he goes to punch he runs forward in a straight line which is easily counter-able. In his last fight he was getting hit almost at will and struggled with body shots which sapped his stamina before he was eventually stopped. He showed a lot of grit and toughness however and won’t give up no matter how far down on the cards he is.
I think Dalton Smith will win by KO because he’ll be able to back Ellis up and land big right hands on him throughout the fight. I also think he’ll be able to counter Ellis when he rushes forward as well.
This should be a fairly easy fight for Warrington who has proved hes world level again and again. Mauricio Lara is taking his first big step up in competition and its a massive leap from the fighters he usually faces.
Josh Warrington is a decent technical boxer who comes forward and pressures his opponents constantly over twelve rounds. He’s not a big puncher at all and only stops people through the huge volume of punches he throws. He’s not a defensive artist by any means but he still possesses head movement and attempts to avoid punches.
Mauricio Lara has decent power but overextends on the majority of his punches. He throws very wide hooks and pays no attention to his defence. He’s the epitome of a come forward slugger and while he has a good chin he needs it because he gets hit by everything. He’ll keep on trying round after round but he can’t offer much beyond that.
Mauricio Lara
I think Josh Warrington should win this fight by either late stoppage or a wide decision due to being much better technically and also having the better defence by far. I think Lara will likely get hit by almost everything Warrington throws and his corner will pull him out.
This should be an excellent fight between two young fighters who are early in their careers. Yudai Shigeoka has looked excellent so far and a lot is expected of him due to his amateur pedigree. Horikawa is also someone that has looked good in their fights however not as much is expected of the youngster.
Ryu Horikawa is a decent technical fighter however when he starts punching he can get lazy defensively. He has respectable power for the division and as fights go on he throws more punches. His stamina seems good and he has more pro experience than Shigeoka who hasn’t faced any adversity yet.
Yudai Shigeoka is also very good technically and lets his hands go. So far he hasn’t really shown any big weaknesses as a pro however he should be really tested in this fight. He’s a good southpaw which will make it hard for most opponents to beat him due to not facing many southpaws. He’s more of a technical boxer rather than a puncher and is good defensively with good variety in his offence.
I think Yudai Shigeoka will win by decision due to being a bit better technically combined with having a better variety of offence and having a more solid defence.
This is a really good fight between two top rated Japanese Featherweights. The winner will be ranked in the top 15 of at least one sanctioning body which makes the fight have high stakes. The winner will also be cemented as the best active featherweight from Japan.
Ryo Sagawa had a rocky start to his pro career when he lost his second fight but has shown great spirit in coming back. He’s notched a series of good wins together against the likes of Reiya Abe, Al Togogon and Junki Sasaki. He has excellent timing and judges distance very well as often he’ll punch and get out of the way of any counters before his opponents can react. He counter punches extremely well himself due to his timing and understanding of when someone is in range. Sagawa possesses respectable power though certainly isn’t a power puncher and relies on his boxing skills rather than pure power to win fights. I think he is getting better in every fight and has the potential to reach world level especially with how thin the featherweight division is right now.
Hinata Maruta has competed at a good level from his debut and his only loss is too a good fighter called Hidenori Otake who twice challenged for world titles. He has a solid jab and seems to have decent power though nothing out of the ordinary. His footwork is good and is the main part of his defence as he doesn’t keep his hands high enough especially when hes punching. His is very consistent but it should leave him open to counter right hooks as he drops his right hand when he jabs rather than keeping it by his chin. He doesn’t throw a lot of combinations instead preferring single punches.
Hinata Maruta
I think this should be very competitive as both are good fighters and potentially already fringe world level. I personally believe Ryo Sagawa will do enough in a back and forth tactical fight to win a decision. I think his timing and counter punching will make Maruta struggle to land his single punches and therefore win rounds.
This is a mismatch but i’m not mad at the fight as it’s been put together at late notice after Sergey Kovalev failed tests for steroids. He was supposed to be fighting Melikuziev but after failing two tests he was pulled from the fight and his career at an international level is likely over. Morgan Fitch has lost four of his last five and at the age of 37 is entering the last stage of his career.
I expect Bektemir Melikuziev to win by knockout within four or five rounds due to his power and amateur background. While Fitch is 19-4-1 hes 37 and very clearly on the slide as shown by having four losses in his last five fights. Melikuziev is in his prime right now and in my opinion is the best prospect in the Super Middleweight division so shouldn’t have any problems in this fight.
I did a list similar to this one last year for Munguia but with the new year and the middleweight division moving around a little bit I’ve decided to do another one.
The first fighter Jaime Munguia could fight next realistically is Jermall Charlo. He’s the WBC world champion and I think the fight is realistic this year because Charlo doesn’t really have anybody to fight and no one really knows who hes going to fight next so hes available. This would be an excellent match up in the division and while Munguia would be the underdog he’d be a live one and also get the chance to be in a big legacy defining fight.
Jermall Charlo
The second fighter Jaime Munguia could face is GGG otherwise known by his actual name of Gennadiy Golovkin. This fight has been rumored recently with Munguia’s promoters going on record saying they are trying to make the fight. GGG is currently the biggest name in the division and looks to be trying to unify with Ryota Murata the WBA champion. If Munguia and GGG were to fight it would most likely be in the second half of the year.
GGG
The third fighter Munguia could face is Maciej Sulecki who is currently 29-2. Hes a top contender at middleweight and has only lost to world champions. He’d be a very good test and just a good fight in general as Sulecki can get dropped but is a good boxer with underrated power. I think the styles would match up well and is a good fight for both as Munguia gets a good name on his resume while if Sulecki wins he gets another title shot.
Maciej Sulecki
The fourth fighter Munguia could face is Rob Brant who is currently 26-2 and holds a win over Ryota Murata. He’s a good boxer and could be the dark horse of the middleweight division. He’s skilled enough to pull off another upset and a fight versus Munguia would be entertaining as Brant can be knocked out however he also has the chance to outbox Munguia.
Rob Brant
The fifth fighter Munguia could fight next and the one I likely see him fighting is Kanat Islam who is 27-0. Islam was a good amateur and has good technical skills combined with respectable punching power. He hasn’t fought for over a year however and didn’t look good in his last fight which may be a sign hes past his best at the age of 36. He’s still a good opponent for a contender to fight and with a record of 27-0 it’s always going to look impressive on paper. I think Islam has done enough throughout his career to get an opportunity in a big fight and I think this fight makes sense for both. Munguia’s promoters have also mentioned that Islam is the name they are looking to fight if they can’t get GGG in the ring.
Kanat Islam
In my last article about who Munguia could fight I picked Tureano Johnson as his most likely opponent and I turned out to be right. As long as Islam doesn’t get injured again like he did late last year then I’m fairly confident i’ll be right again as rumors are saying that talks between GGG and Munguia are dead for at least the first half of this year.
Boxing Fulcrum 