Predictions
On May 5, Saul Alvarez and Shane Mosley duke it out on the Mayweather-Cotto undercard in a pivotal 154-pound title bout. The lines couldn’t have been drawn any more clearly–with Alvarez being the young and rising force and Mosley assuming the role of the old warrior grasping for one more sniff at the big-time. Alvarez is a resounding favorite, but “Sugar Shane” is by far his biggest-name opponent. Can Alvarez keep his star rising or will the wily old vet show that every legend still has one great fight left …
On May 26, Antonio Tarver defends his marginal IBO Cruiserweight Title against unbeaten Lateef Kayode. Tarver, 43, breathed some life back into his career with a dominant 9th-round stoppage of streaking Danny Green last year. A win over Kayode would greatly further his cause in a cruiserweight division that is on its way up.
In order to do that, Tarver, 29-6 (20), will need to repel the challenge of the strong Nigerian contender who is unbeaten in 18 fights–with 14 knockouts. Kayode also enjoys a 14-year advantage in age. But if …
The undercard of the Zab Judah vs. Vernon Paris fight, scheduled for March 24 in Brooklyn, might prove more interesting than the main event, as heavyweights Sergei Liakhovich and Bryant Jennings duke it out. Whereas the main event is seen as something of a tune-up and comeback platform for Judah (who is coming back for the umpteenth time), the outcome of a clash between Liakhovich and Jennings is far from clear, and both big men have a lot riding on the outcome.
This fight has …
“King” Khan suffered a severe setback in December when he dropped a close decision to Lamont Peterson. Khan went from contesting Timothy Bradley’s place as the division’s top dog to again suffering (somewhat unfairly) the same questions that dogged him after his knockout loss to Breidis Prescott. Soon he will get his chance to silence the doubters, at least for a while, when he meets Peterson for a May 19 rematch in Las Vegas.
In the late 1990s, Zab Judah was not only considered one of the premier prospects in the pro ranks, but a marketable commodity on the fast track to superstardom. The strong, quick southpaw from Brooklyn seemed destined to become the next great American Welterweight in the late 1990s. What followed was a strange and disappointing period—capped off by the ugliest 2006 of any big name fighter—that saw Judah not only fall from talks of greatness but almost off the sport’s map, altogether. Judah’s uneven push toward redemption will once again …
Las Vegas sees more action from the red-hot super lightweight division on May 19 when Argentine Lucas Matthysse, ranked #7 by Proboxing-fans, dukes it out with seasoned former lightweight champion Humberto Soto. Soto is coming up from 135 lbs and has yet to fight a name opponent in his new division, while Matthysse has been on the short end of a pair of close, questionable decisions, so a lot is at stake for both men. This fight is the televised co-feature for Victor Ortiz vs. …
In the wake of the Super Six Tournament, the super middleweight division continues to be one of the hottest scenes in boxing today, with a deep roster and plenty of action. In another installment of 168-pounder excitement, April 14 sees Mikkel Kessler make his bid for a fourth reign as a world champion when he takes on Robert Stieglitz in Kessler’s hometown of Copenhagen. The big Dane is heavily favored in this fight, and for good reason, but there is a lingering question mark …
Waiting around after a cancelled New Year’s Eve matchup with Zsolt Erdei has made the explosive Tavoris Cloud antsy, which could spell doom for unranked challenger Gabriel Campillo. Although the four months of training could conceivably lead to ring rust in some, it’s hard to imagine that the highly regarded, yet quizzically underrated, reigning IBF Light Heavyweight champion will enter the February 18th contest at a disadvantage.
Still, Cloud would be wise to pay mind to the surprising southpaw Campillo who has only been knocked-out once in his ten-year career. The …
Perhaps no one was more shocked by Nobihiru Ishida’s knockout victory over James Kirkland than was James Kirkland, himself. Seemingly on the fast track to superstardom in the junior middleweight ranks, Kirkland was stopped cold by Ishida last April and everything that was once thought a certainty about the tough-as-nails Texan suddenly was in disarray. Was Kirkland as good as his then-previously 27-0 record indicated? Would he even be capable of responding to such an unexpected upset? Some doubt was erased shortly thereafter, with Kirkland fighting three times in ten …
March 17 sees the middleweight division moving one step closer to cleaning up the mess engendered by the WBC, when Sergio Martinez clashes with rising Hiberno-Briton Mattew Macklin. No matter what Jose Sulaiman thinks, “Maravilla” remains the true middleweight champion in the minds of almost all boxing fans, and the WBC honcho’s move to make crony Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. the champ have merely made the WBC an even greater laughing stock. The WBC is backtracking on there mistake now, as the winner …
