Kyle’s boxing picks 12/22/2018

Saturday December 22 ESPN+ 

Carl Frampton vs Josh Warrington

IBF Featherweight Title

This is one of the better fights to be made in the featherweight division, England’s undefeated champion (Warrington) vs Northern Ireland’s champion (Frampton). The talk of this fight started after Warrington upset Lee Selby to win the world title. That was his biggest and best win. Frampton has been involved in some of the biggest fights in the division over the past several years including two against Leo Santa Cruz and also Nonito Donaire. 

This is an interesting fight to predict. Warrington is 27-0 but has only six knockouts. Normally you would think that with a record like that he must be a real slick boxer. But that is not really the case either. He is just a gritty guy who fires back when he gets hit, is very tough and in great shape. His win against Selby was impressive because Selby has very good skills and Warrington roughed him up and took him out of his rhythm. 

Frampton is one of the best in the division and has been for a couple of years. He is a very good skilled boxer with a good chin who has decent but not great power. He can box very nice but if he has to stand his ground he can do that as well. To be honest though, ever since he lost the Santa Cruz rematch he has not been the same. His win against Donaire was an exciting fight and a solid win but Donaire is a little past his prime and Frampton got hit a lot in that fight and seemed to have lost a step. In his last fight he beat an undefeated but untested boxer and while Frampton looked impressive I think part of that was because he was boxing against a guy who was a step down in skill level than his last couple opponents. 

I am tempted to pick an upset here. The slight decline in Frampton and Warrington coming off a career best win could be the perfect storm to see Warrington become a star overseas. But I just can’t do it. Frampton still has a high level skill set even if it has dropped a tad and Warrington, while tough and gritty, seems a little too basic to beat a guy like Frampton. If Frampton boxes and moves a little I think he will win a decision. If he stands in front and turns it into a street fight Warrington might have a better chance. 

Prediction

Frampton by Decision

Saturday December 22 Showtime

Dillian Whyte vs Derek Chisora

This is one of the more interesting heavyweight fights of the year in a year where there were a lot of good heavyweight fights. This is a rematch from 2016 where Whyte won a split decision. Two guys who throw big punches, have great chins but also very good power. Whyte is a legit top 10 and probably top 5 heavyweight and Derek Chisora is coming off a big KO win of former title challenger Carlos Takam and has also given tough fights, although losses to Tyson Fury twice, Vitali Klitschko and David Haye along with the first Whyte fight. These guys know each other well and I expect the action to kick off early. Since their first fight Whyte has gone on to have big wins against the likes of former titlist Lucas Browne and former titlist  Joseph Parker. As I stated earlier Chisora is coming off a great highlight reel KO of tough Carlos Takam. 

I see this fight playing out similar to their first fight which is good for the fans. Both guys landed bombs in this fight and both were stunned several times. But as in most rematches the guy who won the first will usually win the second. And I think it will be a tad easier the second time. Whyte has improved enough that this one may not go the distance although if there is  a stoppage I think it will be late.

Prediction

Whyte by TKO in later rounds

Saturday December 22 Fox 8 pm ET

Jermall Charlo vs Matt Korobov 

WBC interim middlweight title

Charlo was originally supposed to face former title challenger Willie Monroe until Monroe failed a test for PED’s and was pulled from the fight. Luckily for the fans Korobov was training for a fight on the undercard and he was immediately moved into the main event and a much bigger opportunity. And I think Korobov will make for a better fight. A former amateur star from Russia he is a once beaten lefty who has very good skills and can punch. His best win was a decision over current super middle titlist Jose Uzcategui and his lone loss was by stoppage to former middleweight title holder Andy Lee in a fight that Korobov was winning until he got caught. 

Charlo is an extremely talented fighter with very good skills and power. He is coming off three straight knockout wins against good competition, the best of the bunch being Julian Williams. It seems he is one or two wins away from a huge fight against a name such as Canelo, GGG or Danny Jacobs. 

While I think Korobov will make for a better fight against Charlo than Monroe I still don’t think he has enough to win. Charlo is a special fighter and the only thing he his missing is a signature win against a top name fighter. A knockout win here could put him into that fight. In Korobov’s lone loss he was stopped by Andy Lee in a fight where he was not able to recover from getting hit with Lee’s big hook. Charlo is a better fighter and a harder puncher than Andy Lee. 

Prediction

Charlo by KO

Jermell Charlo vs Tony Harrison

WBC junior middleweight title

Jermell Charlo, like his brother Jermall, is an extremely talented fighter who is not far away from a very big fight, preferably against 154 pound all action champion Jarett Hurd. He is coming off a close points win against Austin Trout and that was the first fight in a while where he showed just a little vulnerability. Before the Trout fight he reeled off a couple highlight KO’s against undefeated Erickson Lubin and 26-1 Charles Hatley. 

Harrison at 27-2 is a fighter who came very close to being a world champion. He was ahead on points to Jarett Hurd when they fought for the title but couldn’t hold on and was stopped late. His only other loss was similar in that he was leading on the cards when he was stopped in the last round against fringe contender Willie Nelson. Harrison has good size and reach and good knockout power but seems to have stamina and chin problems late in fights. 

I think Harrison is skilled enough and dangerous enough to make Charlo be cautious in the beginning. He could possibly win some early rounds and with his power is always one punch away from a KO win but I do not think he will be able to put it together enough to pull it off. Like his previous two losses I expect him to get stopped late in a fight he will probably be competitive in but unlike his other two losses i don’t think he will be ahead at the time of the stoppage. 

Prediction

Charlo by TKO

Kyle’s boxing picks 12/14/2018+ 12/15/2018

ESPN+ Friday Night

Super Middleweight Title

Gilberto Ramirez vs Jesse Hart

This is a rematch of a fight from last year. Ramirez won a unanimous decision in a fight that he dominated early including scoring a knockdown but Hart rallied and made it competitive. What is more important to me though is what has happened since they fought. Hart has seemed almost obsesses with getting the rematch and he has finally gotten his wish. Since his lone professional loss he has scored three big KO wins against pretty good competition. Mentally he will be ready and physically he will be better in my opinion than he was in the first fight. He has good skills, not great but his determination and big punching power is what separates him. 

Ramirez is a very tall southpaw which automatically can pose problems to opponents. Hart is probably his most impressive win and since that fight he has defended his title two more times against lesser competition and has not looked great. He has shown a very solid chin which has saved him a couple times in those defenses when his defense showed some holes and he will need it against Hart. Usually in rematches the guy who won the first fight wins the second one. I have a feeling though that we will get a minor upset. I see Hart as being almost obsesses with beating Ramirez and since their first fight Hart has been more impressive than Ramirez. It will be tough to stop Ramirez but I think that is Hart’s best shot and I think he will pull it out. 

Prediction

Hart TKO 10

Saturday DAZN

Canelo Alvarez-Rocky Fielding

Canelo moves up in weight to 168 pounds to try and pick up another world title. The fact that he is fighting so soon again after his big win against GGG in the rematch is impressive to me. I also think he will handle the move up in weight pretty well. He has shown a world class chin and his skills have gotten better and better over the last several years. I feel he deserved the decision against Golovkin in the second fight even though it was close and Fielding is a step back in competition even though he holds a world title belt. The one advantage Fielding has is size, standing face to face he towers over Canelo. He better be able to take it to the body though because I feel Canelo will start there and move it up to the head. Fielding only has one loss and it was to a very good fighter in Callum Smith but the bad news is it was a knockout in the first round. This one may go a couple more rounds and I think Fielding will be very game but it will not be enough. 

Prediction

Canelo TKO 5

Some solid undercard fights Saturday night on DAZN as well

David Lemieux vs Tureano Johnson

-Lemieux is limited but also very dangerous. One of the biggest punchers in the game, if you have defensive holes and a shaky chin you will be in serious trouble fighting him. Luckily for Johnson he has shown good skills and a solid chin. His two losses are both to good fighters in Curtis Stevens and Sergey Derevyenchenko. In the Stevens fight he was dominating him and looking like he was on his way to an upset win when in the last round Stevens caught him and hurt him and the ref stopped the fight with a minute to go in what I believe was a very bad stoppage. His loss to Derevyenchnko was more legitimate but as you saw in Derevyenchenko’s fight with Danny Jacobs, he is a top 5 middleweight in the world. I think Lemieux wins here but not without some tough moments. 

Lemieux TKO 8

This is Canelo’s  first fight on DAZN in what is a huge 10 fight deal. Boxing fans win here because before DAZN this would be a 65 dollar pay per view. DAZN is 10 dollars a month with the first month free. Go to DAZN.comto sign up. I have been very satisfied with the fights they have shown, the quality of the streaming and the broadcast team. Give it a shot. 

Kyle’s boxing picks 12/8/2018

ESPN Saturday night at 9pmET

Vasyl Lomachenko vs Jose Pedraza

Isaac Dogboe vs Emmanuel Navaratte

Teofimo Lopez vs Mason Menard

This is a very good fight card from MSG on a Saturday night on ESPN. Dogboe has burst onto the scene in the past 12 months and won a world title and defended it very impressively. He is all action and a big puncher, his fight should be fun. Teofimo Lopez has developed into one of the top prospects in boxing. There was a time I felt he may be a little overrated but not anymore. As his level of competition has improved so have his performances. To his credit he has been fighting legit guys and looking great. Menard on paper is probably his biggest test. The only problem is he is coming off a bad loss to Devon Haney, another top prospect. Losing to Haney is not the problem but how he lost is. Stopped on his stool late in the fight after having lost every round. I expect Lopez to stop him a little earlier than Haney. 

Picks

Dogboe TKO over Navarrate

Lopez TKO over Menard

The big fight of the night is the Loma-Pedraza lightweight title fight. Pedraza is 25-1 and a two weight world champion. His lone loss was a bad one, stopped by Gervonta Davis in a fight where he was dominated. I was not quite sure what to expect of him after that but after a little time off he moved up to 135 pounds, got two decent wins and then beat Ray Beltran to win a portion of the lightweight title. That win set him up for a big payday against Lomachenko. 

In my opinion Loma is the best pound for pound fighter in the world today. You could argue Terrance Crawford deserves it and he is a great fighter but I will stick with Lomachenko. He has great defense, footwork and overall skills. Although he is not a one punch KO artist he does possess the power to knock people out when he decides to sit down on his punches. And I believe that will be the outcome Saturday night although it will probably take a little time to get there. Inevitably people will compare  Loma’s performance against Pedraza with Gervonta Davis’s. Loma versus Davis is one of the better fights to be made in the sport right now and there have been rumors about it for some time now. Davis dominated and stopped Pedraza so Loma has a lot to live up to. I am not a big fan of comparing things like that, this fight is at a different weight and over a year apart and styles make fights so if Loma has a little more trouble with him that does not automatically mean that Davis is a better fighter because the reality is he isn’t. But it is a fight I would like to see so I hope it happens. Loma has to get by Pedraza Saturday night and I am never a fan of looking past a guy, especially one that has won two world titles but I think it is safe to say Loma will still be champion come Sunday morning. 

Prediction

Lomachenko TKO 9

Thoughts on Fury -Wilder

First of all I thought this was a great heavyweight fight. Fury showed he is the better overall fighter but Wilder always has a chance with that big right hand. I scored it 114-112 for Fury but it was a close fight. Mostly because in boxing you get a ton of credit for knockdowns. The fact that Wilder had two 10-8 rounds is what made it close. And regardless of what the Showtime announcing team was saying, the first 5 rounds were pretty close. You could have it 5-0 for Fury like they did but you could also have it 3-2. I also have to say I was extremely impressed with Fury’s corner. When he hired a 26 year old unknown named Ben Davison to be his head trainer I was not sure how that would work out. But I have to say fight night his corner instructions and work were more impressive than Mark Breland in Wilder’s corner. Wilder was unable to make adjustments and there seemed to be no one in charge. In Fury’s corner even though Freddie Roach was there assisting it was Davison who did all the talking and he did it in a firm but calm way. Breland was a great fighter and I am sure is a very good trainer but he does not seem to be able to get though to Wilder. He has shown no real improvement in his skill over the past couple years, mostly still depending on his power. Fury showed huge improvements which is amazing considering he was suicidal and over 300 pounds a little over a year ago. I did not think two tune up fights against mediocre competition would be enough to prepare him for Wilder but it definitely was. I also give credit to both guys for being class acts after the fight. Overall I thought it was a very good night for the sport and the decision was not nearly as controversial as many people would have you believe.