Kyle’s boxing picks 2/22-2/23/2019

TV Lineup

Saturday Feb 23 Showtime

James Degale vs Chris Eubank Jr

Lee Selby vs Omar Douglas

Joe Joyce vs Bermane Stiverne

Saturday Feb 23 Fox Sports 1

Anthony Direll vs Avni Yildirim

WBC Super Middle Title

James Degale VS Chris Eubank Jr- Showtime Saturday

To me this is the most interesting fight of the weekend. Add in a loud ,excitable English crowd, who always comes out to support their fighters and you should have an electric atmosphere. Degale, the former 2008 Olympic Gold Medallist and former Super Middle Champion versus Eubank, the son of one of the best fighters to ever come out of England and a talented but underachieving fighter so far. 

An Olympic Gold Medal and a world title coming from boxing crazy England would normally translate into superstardom for that fighter. Degale accomplished both and in order to win his title he came to the United States and beat a very good fighter in Andre Direll. He seemed to be on his way to big fights and big money. While he has been in with good fighters since and beat most of them he has not looked the same since 2015 when he beat Direll. Two lackluster decision wins against Lucian Bute and Porky Medina, a draw against Badou Jack in a fight where he was very close to getting stopped in the last round and a huge upset loss to Caleb Truax in a fight where he took a pretty significant beating rounded out his next 4 fights. He fought Truax in a rematch and won his title back but it was not an impressive victory and he seems to not be even close to the guy who won a title 4 years ago. 

Eubank, who’s father was a world champion in the 90’s and one of the greatest fighters to ever come out of England has carved out a pretty nice career for himself. He lost his two biggest fights but they were both by fairly competitive decision to world champions Billy Joe Saunders and George Groves. He does hold a win against former champion Arthur Abraham and a KO win against Avni Yildrim who will be fighting Anthony Direll this Saturday for the WBC 168 pound title. When Eubank is in with B level fighters he looks like a superstar, tons of skills, athleticism and power. Unfortunately for him though he has not brought that fire and talent up with him when he fights better competition. Degale will be a step up although he probably is the third best guy Eubank has ever fought behind Saunders and Groves. And this version of Degale is not the same as it would have been if he fought him 4 years ago. 

At their best I think Degale is the better fighter. But that version of Degale is not around anymore and I don’t think he ever will be again. Once you lose it it is very hard to get it back and he has had some very physically taxing fights. Eubank is still fairly fresh, even in his losses he didn’t take a bad beating and he has never been stopped. Unless Eubank freezes in the big moment I think he has more than enough to beat this version of Degale, It may not be easy though because while Degale’s skills have diminished his heart has not. Should be a fun fight.

Prediction

Eubank by Decision

Lee Selby vs Omar Douglas- Showtime

This is another very interesting and competitive fight where the outcome definitely  is not certain. Selby, a former world champ at 126 pounds is coming off losing his title by decision to Josh Warrington. He now moves up to 130 pounds and is fighting a very tough opponent for his first fight back after a loss. 

Douglas is 19-2 with both losses coming by very competitive decision to top level fighters Javier Fortuna and Edner Cherry. He is a short stocky fighter with a good left hook and holds several solid wins against good fighters. I think he is a very live underdog in this fight. 

On one hand I give Selby a ton of credit to take this fight as his first fight back after losing his title. Moving up in weight will not make it any easier for him as well because Douglas is the naturally bigger guy. But I have to question the decision making here of Selby’s team. I think this is a bad matchup for him. When you lose your title and then decide to move up in weight everyone would understand taking a soft touch just to get back in the mix. Again, I give Selby credit for taking a tough fight but I don’t think it will work out for him here. I think Douglas will beat him in a mild upset although fighting in England if it is close the judges may not give it to him. 

Prediction

Douglas by Decision

Joe Joyce vs Bermane Stiverne-Showtime

Joyce is one of my favorite heavyweights in a division that has been heating up for some time. At 6 foot 6 and 260 pounds of solid muscle he is a physical specimen and fits right in with the giants ruling the division today. An Olympic Silver Medallist he currently is 7-0 with all wins by KO. If there is a negative to his style he seems a little stiff and slow at times. But he makes up for it with huge power and solid skills, He has fought and KO’d solid competition so far although on paper Stiverne is a step up. But it is time for Joyce to step up and Stiverne is the perfect guy for the job. His conditioning is suspect and he is coming off a bad KO loss to Deontay Wilder. I expect Joyce to knock him out and probably do it sooner than later. 

Prediction

Joyce by KO

Anthony Direll vs Avni Yildrim-Fox Sports 1

I don’t know much about Yildrim except his lone loss was a bad KO to Eubank and in his last fight he had a majority decision win against perennial contender Lolenga Mock. Direll is a former world champion who still seems to have something left and I think it should be more than enough. 

Prediction

Direll by TKO

Kyle’s boxing picks 2/2/2019

Schedule for Boxing weekend of Feb 1

Friday Feb 1 Showtime

Ronald Ellis vs Deandre Ware

Will Madera vs Thomas Mattice

Saturday Feb 2 DAZN

Sergio Garcia vs Ted Cheeseman

Saturday Feb 2 ESPN

Oscar Valdez vs Carmine Tommassone (World Title Fight)

Richard Comney vs Isa Chaniev (World Title Fight)

Saturday Feb 2 ESPN+

Eleider Alvarez vs Sergey Kovalev (World Title Fight)

Preview- Alvarez vs Kovalev ESPN+ Saturday Midnight

This is a rematch that most boxing fans have been looking forward to ever since the first one ended several months ago. On paper it was a big upset when Alvarez knocked out Kovalev but to me it really wasn’t. Sergey Kovalev at his best is one of the best pound for pound fighters in the world and Alvarez is a very skilled fighter with good power. Their first fight was very competitive with Kovalev hurting Alvarez early but the challenger came back and scored a big knockout in the middle rounds. 

Kovalev by now is a known commodity to even casual boxing fans. Solid skills, big knockout power and a mean streak turned him into the best light heavy in the world for a couple years. On paper he has two losses to the great Andre Ward but to most knowledgeable people Kovalev won the first fight. The rematch was a different story though and Ward stopped Kovalev. Since then he has not looked the same even with two wins before getting stopped by Alvarez. While Kovalev is very skilled and has big power so he always has a chance to beat anyone I do not see him winning this rematch. He seems to be a bully type and once that gets penetrated he is not the same fighter. Ward in the second fight took away a lot of the fear people had and Alvarez finished it. Kovalev has changed trainers as well and while I respect Buddy Mcgirt as a great boxing guy this seems to be an odd pairing. Add in to the mix that he was recently arrested on a felony assault charge and it would be easy to see that he may not have had the greatest training camp. 

Alvarez was an undefeated challenger coming in to his first world title fight against Kovalev but mostly unknown outside of Canada. He had beaten good fighters but never on US TV. As soon as their fight started though you could see he had a very snappy good jab, solid skills and came to win. Kovalev hurt him early and he weathered the storm and came back which is the sign of a true champion. He may have one of the best jabs in boxing, very fast with good snap and he sets up the right hand behind it very nice. He also has the mental edge because he won by KO in the first fight, has less wear and tear on his body and seems to be more responsible outside of the ring as well. I expect him to be ready. 

This is a fight that I do not see Kovalev winning, mostly for the reasons I spoke about above. He has very good power so he always has that chance but I think Alvarez overall is a better fighter and more importantly he is the hungrier mentally stronger fighter. Usually when a fighter wins the first fight by KO he or she usually comes back and wins the rematch. Kovalev has a good chin so stopping him again may be tough but I think Alvarez will get it done. If not I think he will outfight him and bust him up with that jab. 

Prediction

Alvarez TKO 9

Kyle’s boxing picks 1/26/2019

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.

Kyle’s boxing picks 1/19/2019

Showtime Pay Per View Saturday January 19

Manny Pacquaio vs Adrien Broner

Badou Jack vs Marcus Browne

Jack vs Browne (Light Heavyweights)

This is a very interesting fight. Browne, a former Olympian and a top prospect who is now a title contender versus former world champion Badou Jack. This is a fight that I could see either guy winning by decision or KO and that is rare and is what makes it something fans should be looking forward to. 

Jack has fought by far the better competition. Considering that he was a world champion at 168 pound before moving up to 175 should make that pretty obvious. He is the naturally smaller guy but his two fights at light heavy have proven that he belongs there. He dominated and stopped former champion Nathan Cleverly and then fought to a draw with Light Heavy champ at the time Adonis Stevenson in a fight that, while close, most thought Jack won. He also holds wins over George Groves and Anthony Direll at 168 pounds. Jack has good skills, solid power and although his one loss is by KO, since that fight he has fought some big punchers and his chin and heart have held up very well. 

Marcus Browne is a big, strong light heavy. A former Olympian and a southpaw, he has very good skills and good power. His level of competition as a pro has been decent although Jack is a big step up. There have been fights where Browne looks sensational, his KO over Seanie Monaghan comes to mind. But there have also been fights where he looks very vulnerable and he has been dropped several times by different fighters. 

I think this fight will be very competitive for the first 6 rounds. I can see both guys hurting the other and maybe even scoring an early knockdown. I think though that Jack still has something left in the tank and his experience in gutting out close 12 round fights against world class fighters like James Degale, Adonis Stevenson and Lucian Bute will be the difference. It is possible that after a long career and some hard fought battles that Jack’s best days are behind him and if he gets old overnight than Browne is definitely good enough to get the W. But I think my first scenario is more probable and Jack will pull away in the second half of the fight and probably win by decision although a late KO is possible. 

Prediction

Jack by Unanimous Decision

Pacquaio vs Broner (Welterweights)

This fight is huge when it comes to name recognition which is why it is on pay per view but it does not belong there. A 40 year old Pac versus a guy who has basically done nothing in his last several fights. Don’t get me wrong, I am interested in it and believe it will be entertaining but I think it should be on Showtime and not on pay per view. 

Even though Pac is 40 and is not the fighter he was 5 years ago he is still world class and still beats world class fighters. His last win was a stoppage over former world champion Lucas Mathysse which was very impressive although it seemed to me that for some reason Mathysse fought without any fire at all. Pac also holds a dominant win over Jessie Vargas, a guy that Broner fought to a draw with fairly recently. We all know what Pac does. He throws fast combinations from a southpaw stance and gives great angles while doing it. This style will be a nightmare for Broner. 

Broner at 135 pounds looked like a star and he did win several world titles in different weight classes. Unfortunately for him though he kept moving up in weight and every time he did that he was less impressive. He simply is a very small welterweight and has never looked very impressive at 147 pounds. He has two wins, two losses and a draw in this division. The two wins were both very close decisions and the losses were both pretty clear. At 147 he has become very flat footed with a hands up defense and counterpunches more than takes the lead. 

As I said earlier, stylewise this fight is horrible for Broner. He stands still and puts his hands up, letting his opponent get his punches off and then Broner looks to counterpunch. Letting someone with Pacquaio’s speed get off and waiting to counter will never work. Pacquaio’s angles and footwork will have him out of danger by the time Broner fires back. Even if a lot of the punches are blocked by Broner Pac will still outwork him by a lot. And at 147 pounds Broner is a very average puncher so I don’t believe that he will be able to hurt Pac. I do not expect this to be very competitive, there are probably 10 guys at 147 who beat Broner and Pac is one of them although Broner has a good chin and does not take chances so he will probably go the distance.

Prediction

Pac by Unanimous Decision

Other action this weekend:

-Bryant Jennings vs Oscar Rivas(Heavyweights) Televised by ESPN+

Good solid heavyweight fight. Jennings the veteran contender and Rivas, a former Olympian with a glossy record but taking a big step up. Jennings still should have enough left to get the W and put himself into a big fight next.

-Demetrius Andrade vs Artur Avakov (WBO Middleweight Title)

Jorge Linares vs Pablo Cesar Cano (Lightweights)

Both of these fights will be televised on DAZN live from the Theater at MSG

Quick Notes:

Caleb Plant’s win over Jose Uzcategui for a piece of the Super Middleweight title this past Sunday was a perfect example of a guy who gets his shot and does not let it slip away. Uzcategui was the way more experienced fighter who had beaten much better competition. I expected him to handle Plant and stop him late. To Plant’s credit he came out in the first round, stood his ground and got respect, scoring two knockdowns in the first 6 rounds. When Uzcategui tried to rally late Plant was able to hold him off showing a good chin and conditioning. I gained a ton of respect for Plant and that was a big W and he is now a legit world champion.

Every year there is usually a big fight on Cinco De Mayo weekend and this year will be no different. Canelo Alvarez versus Danny Jacob’s just got made for May 4 and this is a great fight, probably the best fight you could make in the middleweight division. If I had to guess I would think the winner will be gunning for GGG again. My initial thought here is that Canelo wins but Jacobs is a very good fighter who will definitley come to fight and can not be taken lightly. The best part here is that it will be shown live on DAZN which means no pay per view. Pay your 9.99 a month and you can watch. These streaming apps like DAZN and ESPN+ are the future and that is good news because they will be replacing PPV which is dying a slow death. 

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.