Miguel Cotto and Saul Alvarez will add to the rich history of the Mexico vs. Puerto Rico rivalry this Saturday night. Canelo is the young lion hungry for a signature victory. Cotto is the vet looking for respect and a chance to add another name to his impressive resume. This sure-fire, two-way matchup will be broadcasted live on HBO PPV at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
Timothy “Desert Storm” Bradley steps in the ring with “Bam Bam” Brandon Rios Saturday night live on HBO from Las Vegas at the Thomas & Mack Center. The hype or lack of hype heading into fight week is really no surprise. After all Floyd Mayweather just fought in sin city two months ago and in two weeks time the Mandalay Bay hosts Canelo vs. Cotto.
With both men hailing from California it would’ve been a nice fit at The Forum, its original spot. Unfortunately a miscommunication occurred and the end result is a pretty decent scrap in the wrong venue. The fight itself isn’t that great of a matchup at welterweight. A few years back it may have been seen as a showcase. That’s not to say this scribe won’t be excited once the bell rings, it’s just not an event the public demanded.
Unfortunately, Terrence Crawford’s 2015 is not going the way Top Rank wanted it to and by year’s end it will be considered somewhat of a loss. Sure, Crawford’s bank account gets bigger and there’s nothing wrong with that but his 2014 fighter of the year momentum has all but faded. In the spring, Bob Arum spoke of names such as Lucas Matthysse and Manny Pacquiao as possible opponents in Crawford’s near future.
This Saturday night broadcasted live on HBO PPV from New York City, David Lemieux has a second chance to make a lasting impression. Gennady Golovkin is on a mission after Floyd Mayweather’s retirement announcement and David is the only thing standing in his way from a takeover. Ok that and a fight with the winner of Canelo Alvarez and Miguel Cotto. Is this a stylistic dream of a brawl sent from the boxing gods? Or an overhyped mismatch on Pay-Per-View? It’s probably somewhere in between.
Adrien Broner faces Khabib Allakhverdiev this Saturday night in Cincinnati, OH at the U.S. Bank Arena. The Showtime broadcast includes rising Puerto Rican talent Jose Pedraza taking on a vet in Edner Cherry. Beyond the obvious issue of a title at stake, the matchup is a solid one for Broner to get well after losing to Shawn Porter in June.
Two boxers fighting for a 140-pound strap both coming off losses isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement. Either way it’s a do or die situation for Broner, who has chosen wisely to keep his mouth shut of late. When he has spoken Broner is saying all the right things in the run-up to this important event. Less is defiantly more for Broner as he prepares for this true crossroads fight.
The problem for Broner has been how he spends his time between bouts outside of training camp. His weight issues have been well documented. If he can get that under control there’s still some promise left at 140.
Ok so I fully admit the title to this article was easy pickings. The exact opposite of the opponent Lucas Matthysse will be facing this Saturday on HBO. Unlike the Broner/Allakhvediev bout, this HBO matchup should and will have a championship belt at stake. Will Matthysse get this much needed victory or will Postol outmaneuver Lucas? One thing that’s almost certain is the style in which both men fight producing at the all-action backdrop of the StubHub center.
Both combatants are fighting for pride and a chance to win their first full championship belt. That’s not to say it will decide who is best at junior welterweight. For all the hype about Matthysse’s power surprisingly he has yet to win a full blown title. Meanwhile Viktor Postol found himself lost in the alphabet shuffle having to wait and/or step aside while engaging Danny Garcia in a fight. With Garcia now out of the division a new lineal title will need to be formed.
Fight week buzz on social media is primarily centered on an IV that Floyd took the night before the Manny Pacquiao fight. Even with a juicy Thomas Hauser piece this week, Mayweather’s choice of opponent has the boxing world looking ahead to better matchups on the schedule. Can Andre Berto do the unthinkable and pull an upset for the ages? Or will it be business as usual for Money May in route to another unanimous decision.
This Sunday afternoon the PBC on CBS will bring boxing fans a rematch between Jamie Mcdonnell and Tomoki Kameda. Their first meeting back in May on CBS was a two-way affair and the second time around has only increased the stakes at hand. Can Mcdonnell have the same continued success he found after coming off the mat? Will Kameda use a smarter game plan rather than head hunting as he found himself doing after scoring the early knockdown?
Jamie Mcdonnell seems a bit distracted heading into the rematch with Tomoki Kameda. Mcdonnell has spoke of future opponents like Scott Quigg and Carl Frampton but can’t afford to look ahead. After all it was a debatable victory Kameda with all three scorecards reading 114-113. That’s not to say that Jamie didn’t fight well enough to deserve the win. But it was a close fight that could have gone to either man or ended in a draw.
Lots of leather will be thrown in this featherweight dust-up between Abner Mares and Leo Santa Cruz. The broadcast will air live in primetime on ESPN/ESPNDeportes from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. The winner will be the King of LA without a crown with only a WBC Diamond trinket on the line. A more fitting label might be the battle to become the “Prince” of Los Angeles. Can Abner get his groove back by digging his way out of the rut he’s been stuck in for two years since suffering a shocking first round defeat to Jhonny Gonzalez? Will Leo sink or swim in his first true test of his career?
Just around two years ago (and 4 days) the stage was being set for a classic west coast matchup between a young slugger named Leo Santa Cruz and a rising star in Abner Mares. Can you hear the song? Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio? Fill in Abner Mares’s name for Joe’s in that song and it paints a picture of the current state of Abner’s once promising career.
(Photo credit: Ed Diller/DiBella Entertainment) At first glance “Sleepy Hallow” is a fitting title for the Heavyweight main event tonight for the PBC on Spike. There’s a good chance it could be a sleepy affair. The argument could be made that the bout is being slept on as well. At least the location is solid with a main event featuring somewhat known boxers and two fighters of polish decent on the televised portion of the broadcast which will air live at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.
Does anyone care about Antonio Tarver’s aspirations of topping George Foreman’s record? Not really. Even with a win the goal won’t be accomplished until he gets a likely shot at Deontay Wilder’s WBC strap. Cunningham isn’t the household name that sparks interest per-say either which is the main reason why this fight has been put out to pasture and thrown on the pile of meaningless fights made by the PBC.