Light flyweight Zou Shiming (1-0) got his career off to a good start with a four round unanimous decision on Saturday night in beating Valenzuela (2-2-1, 1 KO’s) by a four unanimous decision in a fight that was pretty much one-sided from start to finish at the Cotai Arena, Macao, Macao S.A.R., China. Shiming used his jab and fast hands to land at will against the more limited Valenzuela. Zou had Valenzuela hurt from a left hand in the 2nd, but he didn’t have the power to add to it. The judges scored the fight 40-36, 40-36 and 40-36.
Valenzuela was getting to Shiming in the 3rd round and it wasn’t impressive stuff by Shiming despite the fact that he was still landing more. Valenzuela wasn’t bothered by his shots for the most part other than that one left hand he was clipped with in the 2nd.
Floyd Mayweather Jr. is going with WBO super bantamweight champion Nonito Donaire (31-1, 20 KO’s) to get past WBA super bantamweight champion Guillermo Rigondeaux (11-0, 8 KO’s) next week in their fight on April 13th at the Radio City Music Hall in New York, New York. Mayweather is picking the 30-year-old Donaire to defeat by knockout.
HBO broadcaster Harold Lederman doesn’t see WBA light middleweight champion Austin Trout (26-0, 14 KO’s) having much of any chance this month in his fight with WBC light middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (41-0-1, 32 KO’s) on April 20th at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Lederman thinks the 22-year-old Canelo will overpower Trout and get an easy knockout win. I imagine Lederman is putting Trout in the same class as light welterweight Josesito Lopez, who Canelo just annihilated in five rounds last September.
Heavyweight Audley Harrison (31-6, 23 KO’s) says it’ll be over for him if he loses to the 27-year-old Deontay Wilder (27-0, 27 KO’s) on April 27th on the undercard of the Amir Khan vs. Julio Diaz fight at the Motorpoint Arena, Sheffield, Yorkshire, United Kingdom. Audley, 41, has talked about retiring in the past but he always sticks with it after he gets knocked out.
Tickets are still going fast for the April 20th unification bout between WBC junior middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (41-0-1, 30 KO’s) and unbeaten WBA junior middleweight champion Austin Trout (26-0, 14 KO’s) at the Alamodome, in San Antonio, Texas, USA. 31,500 tickets have already been purchased for the fight.
Despite last night’s fight between Brandon Rios (31-1-1, 23 KO’s) and Mike Alvarado (34-1, 23 KO’s) on HBO being incredibly exciting for boxing fans, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is saying no to the idea of them facing each other in an immediate rematch.
WBC Silver light heavyweight champion Tony Bellew (19-1, 12 KO’s) will be looking to keep alive his hopes for a world title shot against WBC 175 lb. champ Chad Dawson by taking on Isaac “Golden Boy” Chilemba (20-1-1, 9 KO’s) in a fight in Bellew’s home city at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, UK. Bellew, #1 WBC, needs the win to keep his ranking to get a possible shot at Dawson’s title either this year or next year depending on how long Dawson strings it out before facing him.
Heavyweight Audley Harrison (31-6, 23 KO’s) says he’s agreed to all the terms for his April 27th fight against unbeaten American heavyweight Deontay Wilder (27-0, 27 KO’s) at the Motorpoint Arena, Sheffield, Yorkshire, United Kingdom. Audley is now ready to sign the contract to get the fight confirmed.
Heavyweights Tony Thompson (37-3, 25 KO’s) and David Price (15-1, 13 KO’s) will be doing it again in four months for a rematch on July 6th at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, UK. Price and his promoter Frank Maloney didn’t walk away from Price’s February 23rd 2nd round TKO loss to the 41-year-old Thompson without trying to avenge the defeat and show that it was just a fluke thing and not a true indication of how strong Price’s chin is.
WBC interim welterweight champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (31-1-1, 18 KO’s) really only has one way to beat WBC welterweight champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. (43-0, 26 KO’s) on May 4th and that’s by using the same game plan that he employed in his recent fight against Andre Berto last November in throwing a lot of punches.