Badou Jack vs Adonis Stevenson- A big fight in the light heavyweight division with Stevenson the #1 ranked fighter making a legitimate defense for the first time in who knows how long. Stevenson’s reign as the top fighter at light heavyweight has been the subject of a lot of justifiable criticism. To keep it simple he hasn’t really fought anyone who is a top graded fighter, with the exception of a win over Tony Bellew (arguably a career best win), since becoming champion after KOing Chad Dawson in the 1st round 5 years ago. He has kept a moderate schedule that has included not fighting Sergey Kovalev or his mandatory challenger Eleider Alvarez. Adonis is always interesting to watch due to his vulnerability and punching power. He has been knocked out in his lone loss to Darnell Boone and he has been dropped and hurt in fights since then so his chin is a little suspect. This being said he possess tremendous knock out power in his left hand and he only needs to land one shot to change a fight. With the exception of Kovalev he might be the biggest puncher in the division and he always seems to find a way to land that punch. On the other side of the ring stands Badou Jack moving up to the 175lb division after making a lot of waves at 168. Badou was not considered to be much of a prospect on his way up he was a staple on the shobox next generation cards and it seemed that his career might be in serious trouble after a 1st round knock out loss to Derek Edwards back in 2014. Instead Jack turned around his career and came back on a tear beating George Groves, Anthony Dirrell, and getting a debatable draw with James DeGale. While Stevenson has been making easy defenses Jack has been fighting his way to the top. Jack is a well rounded, technical fighter who throws excellent combinations to the head and the body. I actually think that Jack is underrated as a body puncher. He is the kind of fighter that goes out and gets it done he has been showing up stronger and stronger since his knockout loss and I think that he is currently in his prime. Stevenson however at age 40 and not having had a tough test in a few years may look very old in the ring this Saturday. Power is always the last thing to go for a fighter and everyone knows that Stevenson will be the bigger puncher in this fight but will that alone be enough to win. I don’t think this fight is going to go well for Adonis I think that Jack is at his best right now and will be too technically sound for Adonis to beat. This is going to be a big night for Badou and I think it will put him on a collision course with the winner of the Kovalev-Alvarez fight later this year.
Pick-Badou Jack by late stoppage or UD
Gary Russell Jr vs Joseph Diaz- A very good pairing with Jack vs Stevenson, this fight is another great matchup in the red hot featherweight division. The top fighters currently in this mix include Leo Santa Cruz, Carl Frampton, Abner Mares, and Oscar Valdez this is a very talented weight class right now. Gary Russell Jr has only lost to Lomachenko and that has been the only fight that he has really looked bad in to date. Favorable matching for most of his career coupled with blazing hand speed and sound fundamentals have allowed him to be built up as one of the best fighters in the division. His inactivity in the ring over the last few years has really cooled down any hype surrounding him. He is averaging at this point about a fight a year going back to 2016. Joseph Diaz on the other hand has been a very busy fighter since turning pro following the 2012 London Olympics. He has become one of the better pros to emerge on the scene from that US boxing team and he is only 25 still. A busy combination puncher with low power, Diaz is comfortable fighting at any distance but he is at his best when he gets inside and works. This is another fight where one guy may be past his best and the other guy is just really coming into his own or is currently in his prime. While Russell will have a big speed advantage here I think that it will be offset by how fresh and hungry Diaz is. Joseph has been fighting very regularly and is coming in undefeated and determined. Its not that Russell Jr doesn’t want to win I just think Diaz wants it more. Expect fireworks in this fight it should be fun.
Pick-Diaz by close UD
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