Saturday January 26
Fox 8pmET
Keith Thurman vs Josesito Lopez Welterweights
Adam Kownacki vs Gerald Washington Heavyweights
Thurman vs Lopez
-When Keith Thurman beat Danny Garcia in 2017 it cemented his claim as the best Welterweight in the world to most people. That was impressive considering how stacked that division was. No one knew that would be the final fight of 2017 and Thurman would not fight at all in 2018. This Saturday marks his first fight back in almost two years and so much has happened in the division since then I do not believe that you can say Thurman is still the best after such a long layoff. It will be very interesting to see how he looks after such inactivity.
Thurmans back to back wins against Shawn Porter and Danny Garcia were the two fights that made him a superstar and put him in the pound for pound discussion. While a couple minor injuries were partially responsible for the layoff he was scheduled to fight several times before this and for one reason or another they did not come off. Thurman’s attitude has changed as well. There was a time when he claimed to want to fight only the best, was not worried about keeping an undefeated record and was in it for the glory and not the money. That has definitely changed. He has now adopted the businessman persona and seems to put much more thought into his opponents and is more worried about money and being safety first than he is in becoming the best fighter in the world. Some people will say there is nothing wrong with that and I get it. But I miss the old Thurman. His skills are undeniable, a very good boxer puncher and a very good athlete. He has shown championship heart as well. His power has not seemed to hold up against top competition though. While still a solid puncher he is not the one punch destroyer that he seemed to be when he was knocking out lesser opponents. And we do not really know how he will react after an injury and a two year layoff.
Josesito Lopez has a fighting style that fits his nickname, “The Riverside Rocky”. An action fighter who comes forward, has good skills, good chin and a huge heart. A solid win against Mike Dallas and a close decision loss to Jessie Vargas preceded his big opportunity against Victor Ortiz. In an upset and a great action fight Lopez fought toe to toe with Ortiz, breaking his jaw and stopping him late. That win propelled him up a weight class to fight Canelo Alvarez. While he gave a great effort, he was undersized and not strong enough and was stopped in the middle rounds. He is 6-2 since that fight with the two losses coming against top fighters Marcos Maidana and Andre Berto in fights where he was competitive but came up a little short.
Lopez always comes in shape and fights to win. He has good experience against top fighters and I am sure in his heart he believes he can beat Thurman. The two year layoff combined with Lopez’s tenacity may make for an interesting fight for the first 6 rounds. I can see Thurman being cautious to start but Lopez’s aggressiveness may not allow for too much of that. At the end of the day Thurman has more talent and ability and I think that will help him prevail in the end. I think that Lopez may go the distance though and will win some early rounds in the process.
Prediction
Thurman by Unanimous Decision
Kownacki vs Washington
-This is an interesting heavyweight fight between a fringe contender/prospect in Kownacki and former title challenger Washington. They have contrasting styles and fight very differently but when you mix them together there are a lot of different outcomes that I can see happening.
Kownacki is undefeated and fights out of Brooklyn NY where he was a solid NYC amateur before turning pro. He does not look the part at all, seems to be carrying 25 pounds too much and if this was a bodybuilding contest then Washington would win by first round KO. But that stuff does not matter although I think it would help Kownacki to drop some of the baby fat. His style, which is a come forward and let your hands go type is based on good conditioning and a good chin with pretty good power. So far his chin has held up and it has been tested because Kownacki is not hard to find. I really hope he improves his defense because as he fights better guys he is going to need it. That is not to say he has not fought solid competition, his last two wins were against title challenger Artur Szpilka and former champion Charles Martin and he looked good in both.
Washington is big, 6 foot 6 and very strong. He is a decent puncher but not as big of one as you would think by looking at him. He is 19-2 with his two losses both being by stoppage against top contender Jarell Miller and heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder. He made a good showing against Wilder before being stopped. He is a patient fighter who works off his back foot and uses his height and jab, totally opposite of Kownacki. While Washington has solid wins over faded ex contenders in Eddie Chambers and Ray Austin it is Kownacki who has beaten the better competition while it is Washington who has fought the better competition.
I expect Kownacki to come right to Washington at the opening bell. That is his style and I don’t think he can fight any other way. To sit on the outside with his lack of defense and Washington’s height and long jab would be very bad for Kownacki. A big factor in this fight will be if Washington is able to hurt Kownacki early. He will definitely hit him but if he can not back him off then Kownacki’s work rate and inside work may frustrate Washington. This is a tough fight to pick and I could see either guy winning. I am going to go with Kownacki and his punch output.
Prediction
Kownacki by Decision
News and Notes:
-Also on Saturday Junior middle champ Jaime Munguia defends his title against challenger Takashi Inoue. Not much is known about Inoue and it seems to be a stay busy fight for Munguia as he preps for bigger fights coming up. DAZN will televise.
-Top heavyweight prospect Joe Joyce takes a step up when he fights former World Champion Bermane Stiverne in February. I do not see Joyce having a problem in this. Stiverne’s has shown a lack of discipline in his conditioning and is past his best. Joyce is on a roll and is one of the biggest punchers in the heavyweight division. I expect Joyce to win by KO.
-Hopefully we have seen the last of Adrien Broner after his one sided loss to Manny Pacquaio. He is the most overrated fighter of this generation and at 147 pounds is not a top fighter. The only thing that keeps him in big fights are his antics outside of the ring which have been old for a while on top of being unbelievably ignorant. He does not belong in with the best fighters in the world anymore and has done nothing to earn those fights. Boxing will be better off without him.
-The fights Saturday are being televised on Fox during primetime. Great for the sport and I am expecting a big audience to be tuning in. I believe both fights have the opportunity to be action packed so lets hope they deliver.
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