Boxing Fulcrum

Mahammadrasul Majidov versus Sahret Delgado breakdown

This is a decent fight between two heavyweight prospects who aren’t yet known to the general public. Majidov has the bigger upside in my opinion because of his extensive amateur background and how hes looked as a pro so far. Sahret Delgado should get credit for taking this fight however in my opinion he holds little chance of winning.

Mahammadrasul Majidov had an extensive and successful amateur career where he holds wins over Anthony Joshua as well as a host of other top names. Hes very good technically and when opponents aren’t on his level he stops them quickly. He mostly boxes on the front foot where he applies educated pressure to his opponents until they crumble. He’s not been especially active in recent years as he retired from amateur boxing in 2017 but then returned to the sport last year as a pro after signing with Matchroom boxing.

Sahret Delgado was a decent amateur himself but never fought at the level that Majidov did. He’s not terrible technically though his fighting style is more akin to a come forward brawler than a technical boxer. He took a break of three years before coming back to boxing last year where he won a four round fight by decision. He came in 30 pounds heavier than normal for this fight so I don’t know how much training hes actually done. He’s young so he can bounce back if he does lose but he needs to get more disciplined in the future.

I think Majidov will win by knockout in the first four rounds due to his superior technical skills combined with Delgado not being in shape for the fight.

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr versus Jeyson Minda breakdown

This should be a relatively easy fight for Chavez Jr who really needs a win to get his career back on track. I personally don’t think he’ll ever get back to the top of the sport or get another big opportunity after he quit on his stool against Daniel Jacobs for seemingly no reason. Jeyson Minda has a huge opportunity to boost his career but will need a career best performance to win.

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr for all his faults isn’t a bad boxer and has had success in his career. Jeyson Minda has been stopped in both his big step up fights and has only beaten weak opposition in Ecuador.

I think even if Chavez has barely trained for this fight he’ll win by stoppage because Minda just isn’t all that good and won’t put up much resistance.

Viktor Vykhryst versus Kamil Sokolowski breakdown

This is a solid step up fight for Vykhryst who has looked good so far in his career by winning all four of his fights by knockout. Sokolowski is one of the better journeymen in the heavyweight division and atleast domestically in the UK causes a lot of upsets. His record is deceiving as he really should have won half the fights hes lost but bad judging has robbed him of many a victory.

Viktor Vykhryst had a long and successful amateur career before deciding to turn pro earlier this year. Everything he does is fundamentally right which can make him look a little stiff when he fights. He has a good jab and one-two though doesn’t throw many punches outside of those. He’s very much a fighter who will pick his opponents off at range and is comfortable doing that for however long the fight takes. I don’t think he is a good inside fighter and he hasn’t shown he can up the pressure to stop tough opponents yet. I don’t think any of this will matter until he gets to a high level and even then with it being the heavyweight division he may get away with it.

Kamil Sokolowski is a good fighter with underrated skills though isn’t as technically good as Vykhryst. He’s knocked multiple people out with his overhand right and he’ll come forward and really test prospects. Hes also one of the toughest fighters in the heavyweight division and has only been stopped three times out of 31 fights where hes fought a very good level of competition.

I think Viktor Vykhryst will use his technical skills to keep Sokolowski at range for six rounds and win a decision. I’d be surprised if he knocked Sokolowski out though Vykhryst does have one punch power. I am rooting for Sokolowski as I admire that he fights anyone and more often than not deserves to come away the winner though he rarely gets the decision.

Chayaphon Moonsri versus Panya Pradabsri breakdown

This is a really good fight between two top minimum weights from Thailand. Moonsri is the longest reigning champion in boxing and has so far recorded 12 defences of his WBC minimum weight world title since 2014. Panya Pradabsri has fought his way to a record of 34-1 though hasn’t fought many notable names. Hes clearly a good fighter though and his only loss is a questionable decision in China where he was the clear B-side.

Chayaphon Moonsri is a good technical boxer who punches decently hard for the division hes in. He normally ends his combinations with a short hook which seems to catch his opponents just as they open up to throw their own punches. He has a good work rate and once he gets flowing he really puts his punches together and drives his opponents back. Hes got a good chin and is very tough. I recently rewatched his last fight and considering he was 34 at the time I didn’t think he looked particularly aged or slow. He did briefly retire earlier this year citing health problems but has since come back to the sport and stated that everything is fine. Whether hes coming back because he wants too or because hes effectively being forced too is unknown.

Panya Pradabsri isn’t bad technically himself though lacks the nuances that Moonsri has. He works a lot to the body and will often double up his hooks to the body. His defence is serviceable though he certainly won’t be hard to hit especially for someone with Moonsri’s guile and timing. He seems to possess good power though most of his stoppages have been because of his pressure which I would describe as patient pressure. I describe it that way because as he walks forward and jabs he looks completely calm and never rushes his punches or his feet. I don’t think he has fast hands for a minimum weight and this is something I expect Moonsri to exploit if he isn’t well past his best or still effected by injuries.

I think Chayaphon Moonsri will likely still have enough left to outpoint Pradabsri. I think hes a bit more skilled and while Pradabsri will bring good pressure I think Moonsri is experienced enough to deal with it even at the age of 35.

Estelle Mossely versus Emma Gongora breakdown

I think this should be a relatively comfortable fight for Mossely who looks to be one of the better contenders at Lightweight in Women’s boxing.

Estelle Mossely was a good amateur who won gold at Rio 2016 and has continued that success as a pro where she holds a record of 7-0. She has good footwork and technical skills and respectable power though not enough to knock someone out with one punch. Her defence is good because of her footwork and her keeping her gloves up.

Emma Gongora is a late replacement and is currently 0-1 in her career so I don’t think she’ll be able to do much in this fight.

I think Estelle Mossely will use her superior technical skills and footwork to win a decision after eight rounds.

Tony Yoka versus Christian Hammer breakdown

This is a good measuring fight for Yoka though not one I think he’ll struggle with. Tony Yoka won a gold medal at the 2016 Olympics and after an unimpressive start to his pro career he now now looks like one of the best prospects in the heavyweight division. Christian Hammer is a decent European operator but loses when he steps up in competition and hes done that consistently.

In his recent fights Yoka has looked more aggressive and seems to be sitting down on his punches more. His defence isn’t bad for a heavyweight and being a 2016 Olympic medalist shows hes got good technical skills. He’s also rising in the division while Hammer is morphing into a gatekeeper at this point.

Christian Hammer is a decent fighter when hes facing someone around his level but when he steps up in competition he barely throws punches and just keeps a high guard trying to survive which he has done with differing levels of success.

I think Tony Yoka will win this fight in the fourth or fifth round as he’ll throw his punches around Hammer’s high guard. I don’t think Hammer will throw many punches and won’t try to make it competitive as he’ll go into survival mode like a turtle does when threatened.

Norihito Tanaka versus Yuni Takada breakdown

This is a solid comeback fight for Tanaka where if hes regressed to far he can lose and would likely retire. Hes coming off a loss in a world title fight where he went the distance but decisively lost on the scorecards. Yuni Takada is only 22 but has already fought 15 times where they have a mixed record of 8-5-2 against domestic opponents.

Norihito Tanaka is tough and has a good chin along with solid stamina. Hes technically quite good though doesn’t quite make it when he steps up all the way. Almost all of his losses have come to very good fighters and its worth noting that when he steps down to this sort of domestic level he normally performs well and wins. The only real questions at this point is how much he has left at the age of 35 especially in a division like minimum weight where 29 or 30 are considered old.

Yuni Takada doesn’t have as much experience as Tanaka and isn’t quite as technically good as him but they have youth on their side. In Takada’s last fight they showed good pressure on the front foot and were unlucky not to get the decision in my opinion. That would have been a very good win and set them up for a Japanese title fight so its a shame they didn’t get the decision. I think Takada has decent power and is clearly improving as they have more fights in their career.

I’m going to pick the underdog Takada here because its only over eight rounds and I think with their aggressive style they can take enough rounds off the older Tanaka to win a decision. Every fighter has to fall off eventually and I think its very possible the youth and aggressiveness of Takada will be too much for Tanaka in this fight.

One to watch : Jin Sasaki

For a lot of boxing fans they don’t hear about rising Japanese fighters until they reach the level of a Naoya Inoue or a Kosei Tanaka which is a shame as Japan has a vast variety of exciting fighters to watch. I’m going to focus on one of their brightest prospects in my opinion and one that few outside of the extreme hardcores of the sport would have heard of. If you haven’t yet heard the name Jin Sasaki then your missing out on a bright prospect and i’m here to fill that gap in your knowledge. While hes not known now I assure you that in the future he’ll be one of the biggest names to come out of Japan.

Jin Sasaki is a 19 year old fighter who has been pro for a little over two years and in that time has amassed a record of 9-0 with 8 knockouts. His early competition wasn’t the best but thats to be expected of a prospect who turns pro so young. In his recent bouts hes started going the traditional Japanese route where they test their prospects ruthlessly by throwing them in with other young hungry fighters who are all competing to get regional title shots and eventually make it to world level.

Sasaki is a very confident fighter and person in general who clearly believes in himself which is a good sign for the future. He has a lot of power combined with good timing and punch selection which has led to him knocking out eight of his nine opponents. He uses the jab well to set up his punches which is impressive for someone just starting their career. You won’t find many prospects who are more ferocious finishers than Sasaki who really goes for it when he hurts his opponents.

At this stage of his career he always pushes forward and goes for the knockout which does lead to him loading up on punches. With his aggressive style comes a cost to his defence which isn’t horrible but hes certainly hittable and I imagine fighters at a higher level will try to exploit his over eagerness. These aren’t major concerns however and with him being 19 years old he has a long time to work on his craft and improve.

I think his combination of punching power and confidence gives him the real possibility of being a future star as long as he stays dedicated and keeps improving. He has a exciting fight lined up with Aso Ishiwaki who is a major step up. I imagine that fight will be competitive and I can’t wait too see it especially because it will be streamed free on youtube on December the 26th at the A-Sign boxing channel.

Sho Ishida versus Toshiya Ishii breakdown

This is a really interesting fight between two Japanese fighters who are at very different stages of their careers. Ishida has challenged for world titles and mixed with good fighters at world level while Ishii is only 3-0 but is being fast tracked to the top.

Sho Ishida has a lot of experience which is shown in his record of 28-2. He also has 166 rounds boxed while Ishii only has 11 which is a huge difference. Ishida has a nice jab though doesn’t follow it up with another punch very often and doesn’t throw in combination on a regular basis. He’s tough and has a good chin which makes up for his average defence. He can move and box decently though he does seem stuck between styles where hes not sure whether he wants to outbox his opponents or out slug them.

Toshiya Ishii has a good jab himself which seems a bit more accurate than Ishida’s though he hasn’t faced the same level of competition so it could be due to that. He seems to have a lot of power in his punches but doesn’t load up on shots. His defence is a bit sloppy as his hands drift a bit low and he gets tagged in exchanges. So far this hasn’t been a problem but Ishida is a lot better than his other opponents and could exploit this. He’s the smaller fighter and its yet to be seen how his stamina holds up over eight rounds especially in a highly competitive fight which this will be.

I think over eight rounds this will be a very close fight but I think Ishida’s experience combined with his height should be enough for him to win a decision after coming on strong late in the fight. If Ishii wins a decision after claiming the early rounds then I wouldn’t be surprised as hes clearly very good I just think this might be a bit too soon for him.

Yves Ulysse Jr versus Mathieu Germain breakdown

This should be a competitive fight early on before Yves Ulysse Jr starts to take over because hes fought the better competition. Ulysse has only lost to good fighters and one of those he avenged while Germain has been stopped by Uriel Perez who isn’t great. Ulysse Jr will be more motivated for this fight knowing if he loses he’ll never get to world level so I expect him to really let his hands go.

I think Yves Ulysse Jr will win a decision though the fight will be competitive.