Boxing Fulcrum

Ohara Davies versus Tyrone McKenna breakdown

This fight is over 10 rounds and is the final of the 140 pound golden contract tournament that MTK have put on. Ohara Davies has had a relatively easy ride to the final while McKenna has struggled and arguably shouldn’t be in the final.

Ohara Davies has a lot of power but isn’t the best boxer. He’s not bad technically he just isn’t at the level of a lot of people in his division. The two times hes really stepped up he’s lost and in one of those losses he decided himself he’d had enough which is fine in my opinion but he was slated badly after the fight by many people. His chin is fine and when he’s motivated hes a good fighter.

Tyrone McKenna has run it close with a lot of fighters but has been on the right side of almost every close decision. I thought it was pretty obvious he lost to Mohammed Mimoune in his last fight and shouldn’t be in this final. He’s a decent boxer that normally likes to move a lot. He doesn’t really have much power and its nothing compared to Davies. He has a decent chin but nothing special and can be dropped.

If Ohara Davies turns up motivated I think he wins because hes got more power and McKenna isn’t as hard to hit as people make out. It would also be justice for Mimoune who should have been in the final after getting blatantly robbed.

Manny Pacquiao versus Conor McGregor is a spectacle we don’t need to see.

Unlike the Logan Paul versus Floyd Mayweather rumors it looks like this fight will happen at some point next year. It is similar to Paul versus Mayweather however because it also features a gross mismatch that no one needs to see.

We’ve seen the spectacle of a great boxer versus a great MMA fighter in a boxing ring and we now know without doubt what happens. The MMA guy gets embarrassed and then after the fight everyone questions why they paid for it and why they were interested in it in the first place. Floyd Mayweather came out of retirement and fought completely differently to how he normally does and still beat the shit out of McGregor.

Pacquiao won’t be as nice as Floyd and carry him til the 10th round. I think it likely ends in a early KO for Pac and I think at this point most people think the same. In the Mayweather-McGregor there was at least a large group of people that thought that McGregor had a chance because of “MMA angles” and “Mayweather’s never fought someone with power like McGregor”. No one that understood boxing believed this but McGregor was so popular at the time that the fight at least made sense as a spectacle too see the best MMA fighter versus the best boxer.

Now that we’ve seen it once we don’t need to see it again because we know what the result will be. Not only that but McGregor has lost all of his momentum and isn’t even active in his own sport. It’s nothing more than a cash grab from both of them and as fans I don’t think we should support blatant cash grabs that exploit us.

Logan Paul versus Floyd Mayweather Jr was never going to happen

In the last two weeks there have been rumors of a possible boxing match between Logan Paul and Floyd Mayweather Jr. The youtube stars boxing each other was a little distasteful because they were actually sanctioned professionals and not just doing white collar boxing. If Mayweather versus Logan happened I think it would be the final nail in the coffin for people taking boxing seriously because its such a ridiculous match up.

A fight between one of the best fighters of the last 20 years and a novice who lost his only boxing match is probably the biggest mismatch in the sports history. If it did actually happen I think it would be a disgrace but i’m very confident it won’t happen.

The first reason it won’t happen is because there is a massive weight difference and no athletic commission would ever sanction the bout. The second reason it wouldn’t happen is the money doesn’t make sense, who’s going to pay too see Floyd versus some random youtuber? Not anybody in boxing or anyone thats good at business.

The second reason it won’t happen is because the rumor was started by @Keemstar on twitter who is notorious for making up drama and lies to get views on his youtube channel. He is supposed to be a news outlet for the drama that online influencers get into but mostly makes things up at this point because for long periods of time nothing interesting happens.

The most interesting thing about this whole situation is that off of one lie on twitter a huge amount of people (including me now) have made content and money on a situation that was never going to happen. When someone becomes big enough to make the news themselves then they are never going to run out of content or money. It also shows how good Floyd was at marketing himself as people are still talking about him now and when people think boxing they think of Floyd “Money” Mayweather.

Steven Ward versus Jone Volau breakdown

This is a bit of a tune up fight for Ward who recently lost while competing in the MTK Golden contract Light heavyweight tournament. He’s since moved up to Cruiserweight and this is his first fight in his new weight class. Jone Volau started his career off well but in recent years has been stopped by multiple people at domestic level.

I think with the career trajectory of both that Ward will win though i’m not sure if he’ll win by decision or KO. If it’s 6 rounds and Volau’s punch resistance isn’t completely gone I think he’ll be able to last until the final bell.

What’s next for the Charlo’s and undercard?

The Charlo double header on Saturday night was likely the biggest card of 2020 and in my eyes it really delivered. The card was stacked with good fights with many of them being important to their respective divisions.

John Riel Casimero looked impressive in stopping Duke Micah and showed why so many people want him to fight Inoue. I think its likely his next fight will be versus the winner of Oubaali/Donaire which will be great as it’s a unification fight and the winner can fight whoever the other unified champ is to become undisputed and really create a legacy. Duke Micah should fight other contenders To earn himself a second world title shot.

Brandon Figueroa did what I expected him to do and beat Vazquez by stoppage in what was a very one sided fight after the 4th round. I thought Figueroa looked like his usual self and whiles he’s a fun fighter I think he probably gets hit too much to be an elite world champion. He is supposed to be fighting Ronny Rios next and I think that is a great step up fight and will be fun to watch. Vazquez needs to have a long rest as he took a lot of damage in this fight and may not be the same fighter as before. I think his corner not pulling him out earlier is a disgrace in all honesty and they are lucky nothing terrible happened because of their incompetence.

Jermall Charlo proved he belongs with the middleweight elite by beating Sergiy Derevyanchenko over 12 rounds in what may at this point be the fight of the year. I think he desperately needed a good name at middleweight as he hasn’t been able to get the big fights since he moved up to 160 pounds. I’d like him to try and fight Andrade or Eubank next as both are good opponents who he can realistically fight. It also makes sense for him as both are good enough names that he can fight them on PPV and start to build himself into being part of the new generation of PPV stars. A bout with GGG would be great but at this point of GGG’s career I think he just wants the third Canelo fight. Derevyanchenko is apparently moving down to 154 pounds where I think he can find decent success.

Daniel Roman beat Payano but didn’t look great in doing so. Payano is a very good fighter but has no real business being at 122 and is well past his best. Roman is now a secondary mandatory to Luis Nery and should that fight happen it will be great. I’m not sure where Payano goes from here as he’s clearly still a good fighter but can’t beat the top names anymore and is 36. Perhaps a bout with Rigo would be good for both guys at this stage of their careers.

Luis Nery didn’t have a great performance and if he was *working* on things like people were saying then perhaps someone should have informed him not to do it on a PPV. Compared to the normal Nery who throws a lot of punches and overwhelms his opponents this one was like a disabled rabbit hobbling along and doing just enough to win. I don’t think he was working on things as his coach Eddy Reynoso was asking him what he was doing and to pick it up. He has two mandatories next who should test him more and if he turns up like he did Saturday I think he gets beat badly. Alameda should fight other contenders and prove he’s good and that it wasn’t just Nery having an off night.

Jermell Charlo did what I predicted and stopped Jeison Rosario within 9 rounds. He looked good and clearly had a game plan that involved the knockout and nothing else. Beyond the knockdowns Rosario was winning the fight in my eyes but in the end Jermell’s world class power shone through. His chin also helped him a lot in this fight as it was very clear he could take Rosario’s punches but Rosario couldn’t take his. He has an IBF mandatory to deal with next but after that should go after the WBO champion to become undisputed. Rosario should have a break before either fighting Tony Harrison or moving up to middleweight where with his size he can have success.

Overall I really enjoyed the card and while I know a lot of people don’t like how long it lasted I enjoyed it because it just meant I could watch more boxing. I especially liked how they had three super bantamweight fights on the card which builds hype around them all to fight in the future.

Bobirzhan Mominov beats Vaghinak Tamrazyan

Early today Mominov over came his biggest test to date and beat Tamrazyan over 10 rounds for the vacant Eurasian Boxing Parliament Welterweight title.

Mominov was dropped in the first round but managed to grind out a close points victory in what was a bit of a gut test for the rising prospect. Mominov didn’t look stellar in this fight but it was his first big test and he got much needed rounds in. He’d never gone 10 rounds before so this fight will do a lot for his progress as a professional boxer.

He’s been active recently and I’d like him to keep being active as he is 28 and needs to put in a lot of fights to get to the top level as a Welterweight. I also think the more active a fighter is the more sharp they are and they perform much better.

I think a good fight for him would be someone like Paddy Gallagher who isn’t a great welterweight but hes a solid test. I want too see him versus someone like Antonio DeMarco in a few more fights which would be a great test for him.

Yuniel Dorticos versus Mairis Briedis breakdown

This is a great fight between the two best guys in the Cruiserweight division right now.

I’m going to go with my gut on this one and pick Dorticos because I think Briedis is on the slide a bit and hasn’t looked good recently. He could potentially win a decision but I see Dorticos catching him in around the 9th or 10th round and winning by KO. Whoever wins is the rightful king of the Cruiserweight division right now.

Josh Taylor versus Apinun Khongsong breakdown

This might be a better fight than a lot of people are expecting because Khongsong isn’t a bad fighter even if very few people have heard of him. Josh Taylor is one of the best boxers on the planet right now and will be hoping to continue his impressive run here.

Josh Taylor can really do it all but is the best at fighting on the inside where he really excels. He has good combinations and a great chin which he showed in his fight with Regis Prograis. He has good stamina and power though its not necessarily through single shots its more due to a variety of combinations on the inside. His biggest flaw is that hes not that hard to hit and is willing to get into wars where he takes more punches than necessary.

Apinun Khongsong isn’t good at fighting on the inside and isn’t much of a combination puncher in my opinion. He throws a lot of straight shots and single hooks. His biggest asset is his power which seems to be real and if he lands clean on anyone i’m confident he’ll knock them down at the least. I don’t know how good his chin or stamina is but I presume both are decent.

I think Josh Taylor should win this fight by stoppage by the 9th or 10th round because he is so much better on the inside and beyond one punch power I really don’t think Khongsong does anything better than Taylor. Khongsong also doesn’t have much experience at the top level while all Josh Taylor’s done in the last two years is fight the best fighters at 140 pounds.

John Riel Casimero versus Duke Micah breakdown

This is a decent first defence for Casimero after his upset win over Zolani Tete last year. Duke Micah is getting his big opportunity and will be looking to show hes more than just a contender with a nice record.

John Riel Casimero fights are hard to predict because a lot of it depends on what version of him turns up. When he’s focused he has results like KO’ing Tete but when hes not on he loses to fighters such as Jonas Sultan. I think he’ll likely fight this fight like he did the Tete fight and stay on the outside before jumping in with an overhand right or a 1-2. He’ll switch it up after a few rounds and throw a right uppercut or just a hook and try to catch Micah like he did Tete. I’d say his defence and stamina are solid. I’m not going too deep into a technical analysis of him because a completely different fighter can turn up if hes not motivated.

Duke Micah normally keeps a relatively high guard and throws hooks after walking into range. He’s willing to exchange and does this often rather than just staying on the outside and jabbing. He isn’t that hard to hit and goes back in straight lines a decent amount. He clearly has some power and is a decent combination puncher. He has a decent jab which he sometimes works behind but he’ll often abandon it and just trade with his opponents with hooks to the body and head. I’ll say he does mix his work up well and doesn’t head hunt. When he’s stepped up in competition he has struggled a bit more and his power hasn’t seem to carried up to a higher level.

I think if a motivated Casimero turns up he’ll probably win by KO because Micah pulls back in straight lines and isn’t too hard to hit. Casimero is a decent puncher and with Micah being willing to exchange I don’t think Casimero will struggle to get his punches off and break Micah down. This fight could be an entertaining war until Casimero’s power starts to show and Micah gets broken down. If Micah has improved he could make it close or beat Casimero if he turns up unmotivated.

Luis Nery versus Aaron Alameda breakdown

This is a 12 round fight for the vacant WBC 122 pound world title. Rey Vargas held the title until recently but because he broke his leg he has been named champion in recess and these two fighters get to fight for the title.

Luis Nery has been a world champion at Bantamweight before but failed a drug test and then missed weight in his rematch with Shinsuke Yamanaka which led to him getting banned from boxing in Japan. He failed weight one more time recently and has now moved up in weight to Super Bantamweight.

He’s a really good combination puncher who once he gets going doesn’t stop. I think he digs his hooks into the body well and seems to be very heavy handed. He uses his jab quite a lot considering he is such a power puncher. He has good reactions and is a good finisher when he gets people hurt. He has a mean streak about him which I think all top boxers need to be very successful. His defence is ok but it mostly consists of him catching punches on his gloves and keeping a high guard up when his opponents are punching.

Aaron Alameda can counter decently off the back foot but I wouldn’t say hes world class at it. His hands aren’t that fast and I don’t think he has a huge amount of power. His defence isn’t great and he takes too many punches when he doesn’t need too. He really loads up on his hooks to the body and seems to have quite a focus on it. He sits on the ropes too much when under pressure and has struggled with boxers who aren’t on Nery’s level at all. He’s best described as a boxer-puncher but he doesn’t have a huge amount of power.

I think Nery wins by stoppage within 6 rounds as Alameda takes too many clean shots and sits on the ropes a lot when hes under pressure. Those two things versus a heavy handed combination puncher will lead to Alameda being stopped and being stopped comfortably by Nery.