Boxing Fulcrum

Eimantas Stanionis versus Justin DeLoach breakdown

This should be a solid step up fight for Stanionis too see if he can get past domestic level in the USA. Justin DeLoach has fought the much better competition and while he’s lost a few hes also taken the 0’s of a few prospects now.

Eimantas Stanionis is a decent prospect who was a good amateur. He competed in the 2016 Olympics and went to many international tournaments in his amateur career. He has a good jab and likes to throw combinations especially to the body. His punches seem precise and seem to have some power to them though nothing that makes him stand out compared to say Vergil Ortiz Jr. His defence is reasonably good though he will get hit throughout his career because he pushes forward and is willing to get into extended exchanges.

Justin DeLoach was a decent amateur himself though didn’t quite reach the same heights as Stanionis. He also has a good jab though it doesn’t seems as damaging as Stanionis’s jab is. He likes to throw one or two punches and then reset generally and when he does get into extended exchanges he normally gets caught with a big counter which either hurts or drops him. He has some power himself so its a bit of a 50/50 whether he hurts his opponent or his opponent hurts him.

This is a hard one to pick but i’m going to predict Stanionis by stoppage in the 8th or 9th round. I think when they get into exchanges Stanionis’s punches will get to the target a little quicker and over time that will wear DeLoach down until he gets stopped. I wouldn’t be all that surprised at an upset here though as DeLoach is experienced and a good fighter.

Gervonta Davis cements himself as a new star in boxing

Gervonta Davis was already seen as one of the rising stars in boxing and had pulled in big crowds at his recent fights but still he needed that breakout performance to show hes not just popular hes also the real deal. He did that last night in impressive fashion by knocking Leo Santa Cruz out cold on PPV proving his power carries up to the elite level in boxing.

Davis was already popular before because you know what you’d get when he fought and thats a brutal knockout but now that hes knocking out people that the general public know he should become one of the biggest stars in boxing.

I think we need fighters like Gervonta Davis who bring exciting fights and knockouts to really bring boxing back into the mainstream. It’s nice to have boxers who can win 12 round decisions because of their skills but its not nearly as entertaining as watching a knockout or the anticipation of a knockout because you know a fighter has fight ending power.

I think Tank has a lot of options for his next fight and as he said in the post fight interview hes now the one calling the shots and who’s next.

Lee Selby versus George Kambosos Jnr breakdown

I think this will be a competitive fight where Kambosos has the power advantage but Selby has the skill advantage. I expect it to be a close fight where most people feel Kambosos did enough to win due to coming on strong late and putting Selby under pressure. I don’t rate Kambosos that highly but I think he has a good style to make Selby uncomfortable just not enough to knock him out which is what he’ll need to do to win in my eyes.

I think it will be a close fight where Selby will get the decision because hes the home fighter and from the UK and as shown by last week that is something that helps out a lot when going to the cards.

Oleksandr Usyk versus Dereck Chisora breakdown

This is a good first real test for Usyk but one I expect him to pass fairly comfortably. Dereck Chisora is a gatekeeper at heavyweight and has shown on the right nights he can pull off big upsets or put on good performances.

I think Oleksandr Usyks footwork and boxing skills will be too much for Chisora who will struggle to land much on him. Chisora has struggled with southpaws in the past and now thats hes facing one of the best southpaws in the sport I don’t think hes suddenly going to start doing better. Throughout his career Chisora has struggled with boxers that move a lot and Usyk is a master at that which makes this a bad style match up for him. A lot gets said about Chisora not being motivated for his fight versus Agit Kabayel but I think it was more that he was a stylistically bad match up for Chisora.

I predict Usyk to win by decision but can see a late stoppage if Chisora gasses out after going all out early on.

Marlen Esparza versus Sulem Urbina breakdown

This is a really solid fight in the Women’s flyweight division. Marlen Esparza was a standout amateur but hasn’t really looked great as a pro yet. Sulem Urbina is a good fighter who puts a lot of pressure on her opponents and seems to have been improving as a fighter in every fight.

I’m basing a lot of my prediction on the weigh in where Esparza didn’t look great while Urbina looked like she made the weight easily. I think this could be a passing of the guard type of fight where Urbina as the lesser known fighter puts enough pressure on Esparza to win a decision. I don’t think Esparza looks to have trained that hard for this fight and can really see Urbina out working her down the stretch in the fight.

I think Sulem Urbina will win a decision after taking over in the latter stages of the fight due to having trained harder and being in better shape.

Elwin Soto versus Carlos Buitrago breakdown

This isn’t a horrible title defence for Soto considering its only his third world title fight however its not one I expect him to be in any danger of losing. Carlos Buitrago is a solid fighter who is a little better than his record suggests but in the five world title fights hes had so far hes gone 0-4-1. He has a lot of miles on the clock now and I don’t expect him to be able to overcome Soto who is younger and fresher.

Elwin Soto should be able to win this fight because hes the fresher fighter who while showing vulnerabilities has also shown he has fight ending power. I expect him to keep improving as he gets older as well and this should be a perfect fight for him to showcase his skills.

I think Elwin Soto will win by stoppage in the 7th or 8th round after a competitive start.

Rashidi Ellis versus Alexis Rocha breakdown

This is a really good match up between two unbeaten Welterweight prospects. Rashidi Ellis is currently 22-0 but still needs a big fight to break out into the world stage. Alexis Rocha has been progressing quickly in his career so far and has looked like a good prospect.

Rashidi Ellis is in my opinion one of the most underrated fighters in boxing right now and if given the opportunity could mix it up at world level. He has fast hands and good technical skills to go along with that. He’s not a huge puncher but can certainly hurt people when needed. A big thing when analyzing his fights is that he has off days where he doesn’t look great which makes predicting his fights a hard thing to do.

Alexis Rocha is a solid Welterweight prospect but has struggled a bit when he stepped up and fought Brad Solomon. He’s got good power and isn’t bad technically himself though doesn’t have the hand speed of Rashidi.

I think if Rashidi Ellis doesn’t have one of his off nights he will win a decision due to his hand speed and general boxing skills however if he isn’t on form I expect Rocha to win as he is a talented guy who might be stepping up in competition a bit too quickly.

Jaime Munguia versus Tureano Johnson breakdown

This is a really solid match up at middleweight where the winner will likely fight for a world title next. Jaime Munguia was a world champion at Super Welterweight before moving up to middleweight. Tureano Johnson has been a contender at middleweight for a long time and is looking for another career defining win after beating Jason Quigley last time out.

Jaime Munguia at super welterweight was known for his size and power which got him through fights. He isn’t good defensively but is slowly getting better as he gets older. He’s been working with Erik Morales for his last few fights and you can really see him getting better. When he concentrates he has a really good jab and puts on good pressure. He’s not great technically but his power and chin makes up for it.

Tureano Johnson is a tough fighter who is good technically as would be expected from a 2008 Olympian. He can fight excellently on the inside as shown in his last fight where as a big underdog he beat up and stopped Jason Quigley. He is a good pressure fighter who never really stops moving forward. I think he’d get on the inside a little better if he used a jab more but his style seems to work for him so who am I to question it. Similar to Munguia he doesn’t have the best defence and gets hit a lot which comes with the territory when someone is pressing forwards so much. He has been in some hard fights and hasn’t fought for over a year which could mean he has some ring rust especially at the age of 36.

I think this fight is going to be very competitive and could swing either way based on a number of factors. If Jaime Munguia isn’t effective at stopping Johnson from getting on the inside and can’t fight with him there hes going to struggle towards the end of the fight and likely lose. If Jaime Munguia can establish his jab I think he can win this fight and potentially even get the stoppage. We also have to factor in that Johnson hasn’t fought for over a year and the last time he had this much time out he didn’t look great when he came back.

My prediction for this fight is for Jaime Munguia to win a decision but almost get the stoppage late on. I think the extra time training with Erik Morales will pay off and he’ll be able to establish his jab and control the fight from there. Tureano Johnson will have some success but I think Munguia will make it painful enough for him as he tries to get on the inside that his normal frenetic aggression won’t be as effective.

Bektemir Melikuziev versus Alan Campa breakdown

This is a fight I expect Melikuziev to win in good fashion. He’s one of the better prospects in boxing and has looked good as a pro so far. Alan Campa is a gatekeeper in the Super Middleweight division and loses the majority of his big fights.

Bektemir Melikuziev puts a large focus on the body and I expect him to continue doing that in this fight. While Campa is tough I don’t think he has the required movement or durability to get through all ten rounds.

I expect Bektemir Melikuziev to win by knockout in the 6th or 7th round due to a sustained body attack that breaks Campa down.

Naoya Inoue versus Jason Moloney breakdown

This is a good fight between two top ten Bantamweights though may still be uncompetitive as surprising as that sounds. Naoya Inoue is a top five P4P fighter in the world in my opinion and has been destroying everyone put in front of him. Jason Moloney is world level but isn’t an elite fighter and hasn’t shown he can clearly distance himself from other world class fighters.

I think Inoue is better in most departments and certainly has the advantage in power. Jason Moloney’s only hope in my eyes is to try and rough Inoue up and hope his eye is still damaged from the Donaire fight because otherwise I don’t see how he wins. If he is going to rough Inoue up hes going to take a lot of punishment and I don’t think he’ll be able to withstand it.

I think Inoue will win by knockout within the first six rounds as long as hes fully recovered from his eye injury.