Carl Frampton vs. Leo Santa Cruz 2: Preview & Prediction

01/29/201701/28/2017 Chris Carlson

Carl Frampton and Leo Santa Cruz square-off for the second time this Saturday from Las Vegas, Nevada at the MGM Grand Garden Arena live on Showtime. Can Leo make the necessary adjustments in the rematch or will Frampton’s overall skill be too much again? The co-feature matches former two-weight champion, former pound for pound fighter Mikey Garcia against WBC lightweight champion Dejan Zlaticanin.

Carl Frampton’s career skyrocketed in 2016 on the strength of two legit fights enough so he won the majority of ‘Fighter of the year’ awards giving out by the press. Just under a year ago Carl defeated previously unbeaten 122-pound champion Scott Quigg in a unification bout in Manchester, England. ‘The Jackal’ moved up to featherweight to face yet another undefeated boxer in Leo Santa Cruz.

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Degale vs. Jack: Best Fight the Best in Brooklyn

01/15/201701/14/2017 Chris Carlson

James Degale and Badou Jack meet in Brooklyn to find out who is the best fighter in the super middleweight division. On paper, Degale is the more skilled pugilist of the two while Jack is more consistent overall. The co-feature matches junior lightweight champion Jose Pedraza with a prospect beaming with potential in Gervonta Davis. This card is perfect way for the 2017 year in boxing to kickoff on Showtime for the fans and media alike.

In the past two years both main event fighters forged a turnaround in their careers after facing sizable adversity. James Degale lost a close point’s decision to George Groves in a fight that probably happened too early at that stage. Badou Jack suffered a loss much more damaging via early knockout from a right hand by journeymen Derrick Edwards.

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Jermall Charlo vs Julian Williams: Turning the page at 154

12/10/2016 Chris Carlson

Prime and ready for battle, unbeaten junior middleweight’s Jermall Charlo and Julian Williams Jr. clash for one of the top spots at the division. Charlo is more experienced as a pro and Julian with a tad more potential. The process of splitting hairs is needed when attempting to separate who will be victorious this Saturday night.

Turning the page is what 2016 was supposed to be about for the many fighters waiting in line to become the next Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. Or at least make a name as the new kids on the block at several weight classes that include featherweight, welterweight, and junior middleweight. Saturday’s co-feature bout will mark the 5th, 154-pound match made on Showtime of the year.

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Abner Mares vs. Jesus Cuellar: Mexican vs. Argentinean Equals All Action

12/10/201612/10/2016 Chris Carlson

Featherweights lay it all on the line as three-weight division champion Abner Mares challenges 126-pound titleholder Jesus Cuellar, broadcasted live from the Galen Center in southern California, on Showtime. Abner finds himself in a make-or-break situation for the first time of an impressive career. Cuellar gets a chance to put a stamp on the resume and raise his profile significantly ensuring even bigger fights at featherweight or junior lightweight in the near future.

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Dennis Lebedev vs. Murat Gassiev: From Russia with Blood

12/02/2016 Chris Carlson

Mandatory challenger Murat Gassiev battles unified cruiserweight champion Denis Lebedev in bout that has explosive written all over it. The cruiserweight division is for the most part off the radar away from mainstream attention. Many of the sports long list of legends in the past reigned at middleweight, light heavyweight, and heavyweight. Never a glamour division however in recent years it’s consistently produced great fights and top-ten matchups.

It’s been a nice alternative to many of the heavyweights nowadays, who are too large to keep an active punch rate and often end up gassing out midway thru a fight. The cruisers tend to be in better physical shape but still pack a punch which is the case in this unification dust-up. Take the two-belt champion in Denis Lebedev as example. He comes to fight, doesn’t lack power, and has a helluva chin. Murat Gassiev prefers to stalk his opponent and poses real one-punch knockout power which is evident by a nasty left hook ‘KO of the year’ candidate landed in his last fight in May.

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Lomachenko vs. Walters: Cream Rises to the Top

11/25/2016 Chris Carlson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JU5rUOEHt8E

High-level operators square-off this Saturday night live on HBO, when Vasyl Lomachenko and Nicholas Walters meet at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas. The Ukrainian native puts his 130lb title on the line but the meaning of this fight goes much deeper. It’s a chance for Vasyl to prove himself worthy of the heaps of high-praises bestowed upon him from the boxing world. Many media members and fight fans alike already rank Lomachenko as a top-5 pound for pound fighter based of the eye-test along with two solid wins against Gary Russell Jr. and Rocky Martinez. It also gives redemption to those who are in the wait-and-see crowd having witnessed enough weaknesses in a split-decision loss to Orlando Salido.

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Andre Ward vs. Sergey Kovalev: Legacy Sealer in Sin City

11/19/201611/19/2016 Chris Carlson

Legacy is on the line this Saturday night when former super-middleweight king challenges light-heavyweight crown-holder Sergey Kovalev, live on HBO PPV. The winner of this super fight from sin city will cement their hall of fame credentials and likely take over the pound-for-pound throne. Several questions linger in what has been rightfully billed as a 50-50 fight between elite level fighters. Matching 30-0 records and top-5 P4P status makes this the best matchup on paper in 2016.

A strong case for victory can be made for either men, but it’s not as simple as a run of the mill boxer vs. puncher dual due to the well-rounded skills each pugilist poses. It’s safe to say that both fighters will be facing their best opposition to date. A few opponents come to mind to compare and contrast in an attempt to split hairs.

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Spike/HBO/Sky Sports Preview: A busy weekend full of stay busy bouts

11/12/2016 Chris Carlson

The year in boxing for 2016 has played out like the filming process on a movie set, hurry up and wait. Surely boxing fans are happy to see a busy fight schedule this weekend after a dreary month of October. Busy as it may be it’s full of stay busy fights in all too common theme in boxing over the last decade. To be fair it wouldn’t be the first time a great action fight arose out of a chalk full of ho-hum bouts with the two biggest named fighters facing non-competitive opponents.

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Manny Pacquiao vs. Jessie Vargas: A Bridge Built For Money May

11/05/201611/04/2016 Chris Carlson

This Saturday night live from the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, sure-fire hall of famer Manny Pacquiao will meet WBO champion Jessie Vargas. It’s a once in a lifetime shot for Vargas to become a star in a sport that has very few recognizable names. It’s a means to an end for Manny Pacquiao, who returns from a short-lived retirement. With news surfacing of Floyd Mayweather’s recent sparring session one can’t help but to assume this independent PPV hosted by Top Rank serves as a bridge to a Money Mayweather sequel.

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Krzysztof Glowacki vs. Oleksandr Usyk: Preview & Prediction

09/16/2016 Chris Carlson

Another championship bout more than worth of note will take place in Poland, when Oleksandr Usyk challenges Krzysztof Glowacki this Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately Showtime International or PBC hasn’t picked up this superb matchup. Maybe this proves that Al’s investment money has dried because their just doesn’t seem to be a good reason why he hasn’t found a home for this fight. Go figure, the best fight on paper will get the least exposure. Luckily for us hardcores klowdtv.com will stream it live along with the Anthony Crolla vs. Jorge Linares next Saturday as part of a free offer in the month of September.

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