Boxing Fulcrum

Vasyl Lomachenko versus Teofimo Lopez breakdown

This is perhaps one of the best match up of the year and certainly the one i’m most looking forward too. Vasyl Lomachenko is one of the best fighters on the planet and Teofimo Lopez looks like he could reach those heights one day as well.

In my opinion Teofimo Lopez isn’t going to outbox Loma and he isn’t going to roughhouse him like Salido did so the only real chance he has is to knock Loma out which he is capable of doing. Loma does get hit a lot more at lightweight and while him getting dropped versus Linares was him being careless in my opinion it has shown he can be put down by big punchers.

Vasyl Lomachenko is the better boxer of the two and if it goes the distance I expect him to win. He could also break Teofimo down late on though only if Lopez is weight drained in my opinion.

I think Vasyl Lomachenko will come through a few hard early rounds before taking over and winning a points decision. He’s the better boxer and unless Lopez lands something big I can’t see him winning.

Ellie Scotney versus Bec Connolly breakdown

This is a good debut opponent for Scotney who was a very good amateur. Bec Connolly always gives it a go but normally loses when she steps up a level.

I’m not going to go into a big breakdown for a four rounder especially one I think is relatively simple to predict. Ellie Scotney does almost everything better than Connolly and the only thing she doesn’t have is more pro experience. Connolly has shown that she loses when she steps up against good amateurs and prospects and I think it’ll be the same thing here.

I think Ellie Scotney will win a 40-36 points decision due to her better amateur background and general skill set.

Kane Baker versus Meshech Speare breakdown

This should be a fun competitive six rounder to start the Ritson-Vazquez card off. Kane Baker fought recently and almost pulled off the upset versus Aqib Fiaz and will be very motivated to win this one as he retired for a short while after losing due to feeling he never gets a fair shake on the cards. Meshech Speare is facing his first step up fight and hasn’t fought for over a year.

Kane Baker is tough and will keep putting the pressure on throughout the fight. He throws a lot of punches and while he isn’t all that accurate he makes up for it in volume. His defence isn’t great though its solid enough. He has a lot of experience and fought recently which means he won’t have any ring rust.

Meshech Speare is a come forward fighter that puts on good pressure himself. He seems to have decent power on his punches and puts a lot behind his hooks. He has a good jab when he chooses to use it though he normally just throws a variety of hooks to the body and head. His defence is fine though he could certainly improve it by catching more punches on his gloves.

I don’t see a huge difference between Baker and Speare apart from experience which is why I think Baker will win. Hes much more experienced and fought recently so won’t have any ring rust while Speare hasn’t fought for over a year.

Joe Laws versus Rylan Charlton breakdown

This is a solid step up fight for Joe Laws though if hes what people make out to be he should win fairly comfortably.

Rylan Charlton has only really faced journeymen so far in his career and ended up getting a draw with one of them. He throws decent combinations though he doesn’t seem to have that much natural power. I don’t think his defence is great and his shots don’t seem that well placed.

Joe Laws should fight more calmly than he usually does and when he fights calmly he puts his punches together well. He has decent power though I wouldn’t say he has one punch KO power. His defence is solid enough when hes fighting calm though everything goes out the window when a crowd is backing him as he just starts swinging hay makers with no thought for defence or setting up his punches.

I think Joe Laws will win a decision because he throws more precise punches and has the power advantage in my opinion.

Lewis Ritson versus Miguel Vazquez breakdown

This is a really good step up fight for Ritson who can prove hes beyond domestic level by beating Vazquez. While Miguel Vazquez is a little past his prime hes still well beyond British level and is a hard night for anyone at super lightweight.

Miguel Vazquez has a really awkward style and has good technical boxing skills even if he is a bit unorthodox. His defence is solid and he doesn’t get hit very often. Hes not a massive combination puncher and normally throws one or two shots. The thing that people overlook about him is that he slows the pace of a fight down to suit him and unless your a good fighter you can get sucked into fighting his fight. He is now past his prime and has been stopped by fighters that consistently went to his body and put on sustained effective pressure.

Lewis Ritson is an aggressive fighter who likes to get into tear ups with his opponents which so far in his career hes come out on top in. He’s not the best technically and when hes stepped up hes shown his limitations in power and also in his defence where he gets hit too much. Hes a decent combination puncher but may struggle to land much on the ever moving Vazquez. Hes shown in the past when he fought Francesco Patera that he struggles with good technical boxers who can move well which is exactly what Vazquez is. I don’t think he puts a huge focus on the body which is what he’ll need to do to win this fight in my opinion.

I’m going to call the big upset and say Miguel Vazquez wins a decision due to his awkward style where its hard to hit him as he boxes and moves around the ring with a weird rhythm. I think stylistically this isn’t a good fight for Ritson who has shown before versus fighters that box and move that he runs out of ideas and just marching forwards and throwing punches isn’t enough to win

Thomas Patrick Ward versus Thomas Essomba breakdown

This isn’t a horrible fight but its one that I didn’t really want too see as I feel Ward has progressed past domestic level at this point. Thomas Essomba is a decent fighter but hes not even a European level fighter and has took this on short notice.

Thomas Patrick Ward is very talented and is a great technical boxer. He can box beautifully off the back foot and is more than capable of going twelve rounds without getting tired. The biggest thing he lacks is power which shows in his record where he only has four knockouts in 29 fights. He was supposed to fight a better opponent but unfortunately they tested positive for the Corona Virus.

Thomas Essomba isn’t really a super bantamweight and is moving up for this fight. He has fought recently but lost a wide decision to Sunny Edwards where he was out boxed and looked one dimensional. He comes forward and throws big punches but struggles badly with boxers who can move well and so stylistically this fight is horrible for him. He is much better than his record suggests and always comes to win but will struggle to land cleanly in this fight in my opinion.

I think Thomas Patrick Ward will win a wide decision because stylistically he has the perfect style to beat Thomas Essomba who struggles with boxers who can move and box on the back foot. He’s also technically better than Essomba who isn’t bad himself being a former Olympian.

Emanuel Colon versus Antonio Moran breakdown

This should be a really solid fight between two rising contenders in the super Lightweight division. Antonio Moran is very underrated and has pushed multiple top guys to close decisions. Emanuel Colon is defending his belt he won last year after suffering an upset defeat a few years before.

Antonio Moran has a decent jab which he throws consistently and uses it to set his other punches up. I think he leaves his chin up in the air too much and his defence overall isn’t great. He certainly has some power and is a good height for the weight at 6ft. In his last fight he showed patience and was catching Luis Solis with counters whenever Solis tried to get on the front foot. He’s not a back foot fighter in most of his fights and prefers to take the center of the ring and back his opponents up. Throughout his career hes fought big names such as Jose Pedraza and Devin Haney which means hes much more experienced at the top level than Colon. I think hes decent technically though hes not a combination puncher and thats a big thing he could work on.

Emanuel Colon doesn’t have a huge amount of footage online but from what I’ve watched hes a come forward brawler who doesn’t worry much about defence. He seems to have decent power though hes not a big one punch KO artist its more a volume of punches that gets him the stoppages. He’s not been tested properly yet and in his only big step up fight ended up losing though it was a majority decision. Hes only boxed three rounds since 2017 and has been inactive since 2019 so he may have some ring rust.

I think Antonio Moran will win a decision due to his experience and jab. He should be able to catch Colon coming in throughout the fight and may even win by stoppage if he can time Colon perfectly.

Yusuf Kanguel versus Petro Ivanov breakdown

Not many people will be excited for this match up but I believe it should be a competitive and fun fight. Yusuf Kanguel needs to win here or he will have to go back down to domestic level and perhaps have to look at his future in the sport. Petro Ivanov is on a really good run of form recently and at the age of 24 is only improving. The question here will be if this is too early for Ivanov in his career.

Yusuf Kanguel fights on the front foot and puts a lot of pressure on. His defence mostly consists of a high guard as he walks towards his opponents. He has limited head and upper body movement and instead just tries to block his opponents punches on his gloves. I think his biggest flaw is that he doesn’t jab very often and can sometimes go a whole round without throwing a jab which if you want to get to world level you can’t not jab. When he gets into range behind his high guard he throws big hooks to both the body and head which he really loads up on. He is tough but can be broken down over time by younger fresher fighters.

Petro Ivanov also fights on the front foot and is very aggressive so I can see this fight being a war. He has better technical skills than Kanguel though hes by no way the finished fighter yet. He has decent power but does load up on his punches sometimes rather than punching in combination. A thing he does well is when he punches he moves his head off the center line however lacks solid head movement when not punching. A bad habit of his is that he will sometimes back up in straight lines which will lead to him getting caught needlessly. He has a good chin and his stamina seems great especially with the pace he sets. I like his timing on his short hooks and uppercuts.

I think Petro Ivanov will win by late stoppage due to the pace he sets and being the younger fresher man. He also has better technical skills and when the two are exchanging I think his punches will land first. He also does use a jab occasionally which is something Kanguel lacks.

Qais Ashfaq versus Marc Leach breakdown

This is a good test for Ashfaq who should be aiming to move beyond domestic level within his next two or three fights. Marc Leach is on a good run of form but this is his biggest step up in competition yet.

Qais Ashfaq is a 2016 Olympian and has a good amateur background. He has good footwork and his balance is probably his biggest strength. Hes a decent counter puncher but can put the pressure on if he hurts his opponent. He’s not a big puncher even at domestic level but makes up for it in boxing skill.

Marc Leach has good footwork himself and while hes not a big puncher he hits harder than his record suggests. He rarely pulls back in straight lines and instead circles off his opponent meaning its hard to catch him. He uses feints to try and get his opponents to throw while he holds the center of the ring. He’s not particularly accurate and keeps his hands low a lot relying on his reaction speed.

I think Qais Ashfaq will win a decision because hes more accurate and technically is better than Leach who’s punches are sometimes wide.

Xander Zayas versus Anthony Curtiss breakdown

I normally wouldn’t do a breakdown for a four rounder like this but I thought it should be highlighted because of Zayas. He was the youngest boxer to ever sign with Top Rank and is seen by many people in the sport as a future star. It’s obvious how high hopes are for him as Top Rank went out of their way to sign him even though at the time of signing he was too young to box in most states in America.

This should be an easy win for Zayas as hes still in the developmental stage of his career. He does everything better than Curtiss and the real test is whether he can stop him as while Curtiss has lost five times hes never been stopped.

I believe Zayas will be the first to stop Curtiss and I think he’ll do it in the fourth round.