Kyle’s boxing picks 4/12-4/13/2019

Upcoming Fights

Friday April 12 

ESPN+

Vasyl Lomachenko (12-1 9 KO’s) vs Anthony Crolla (34-6-3 13 KO”s)

Friday night on the ESPN App ESPN+ you get to see, in my opinion, the best fighter in the world pound for pound, Vasyl Lomachenko. A two time Olympic Gold Medallist who had a remarkable 395-1 record as an amateur he is now a 3 division champion in his short pro career. A southpaw with great speed, defense and footwork he also can punch with both hands to the head and body. Truly one of the highest skilled fighters I have ever seen in 30 years of watching boxing. 

In Anthony Crolla, Loma will have a tough determined opponent. Based out of England Crolla is a gutsy fighter who has competed well at the world class level. He is a come forward pressure fighter who shows a good chin comes to fight. Not the biggest puncher in the world he looks to wear you down and outwork you. Most recently he lost two straight to Jorge Linares, one of the better fighters in the world at the time. In those two losses though he was competitive and barely lost the first of the two fights. 

I have a ton of respect for Crolla but unfortunately I think he is totally outclassed in this fight. He does not have the power to hurt Loma with one shot and there is no way he can outbox him. His only shot would be to pressure him, wear him down and outwork him. But Loma is always in great condition, throws precise combinations that will eat up a pressure fighter unless they have great defense and has proven to be mentally tough on top of physically tough. He may have a tough time stopping Crolla, who is always in great shape, has shown a good chin and is the naturally bigger guy but I don’t think he loses more than 2 rounds in winning a 12 round unanimous decision. 

Prediction 

Lomachenko Unanimous Decision

Also on ESPN+ Gilberto Ramirez vs Tommy Karpency (Light Heavy)

Saturday April 13

Showtime

Claressa Shields (8-0 2 KO’s) vs Christina Hammer (24-0 11KO’s)

Undisputed Female Middleweight Title

Arguably the biggest women’s professional fight of all time. It pits Shields, a two time Olympic Gold Medallist from Flint,Michigan and an undefeated world champ as  a pro versus the undefeated world champion from Germany in Hammer. 

I expect a competitive good fight here. Shields is the favorite and rightfully so even though she has much less experience as a pro. She is an aggressive boxer/puncher with skills and is very confident. Hammer is more of a classic boxer and has fought all of her career in Europe. Shields will have to press her and try to make her uncomfortable and Hammer will try to box and move and frustrate Shields, who has shown some vulnerability recently. 

Prediction

Shields by close Split Decision

Saturday April 13

Fox Sports 1

Caleb Truax (30-4-2 19 KO’s) vs Peter Quillin (34-1-1 23 KO’s)

This is a very interesting fight. Both guys won world titles at 160 and have now moved up to 168. Quillin, at his best is the better more skilled explosive fighter. Truax is more of a blue collar journeyman who overachieved and has become a very solid pro. But Quillin’s best days were several years ago and he has only fought several times over the past several years. The question here is can he bring back the fire and determination he had when he still had something to prove and no money in the bank. Im going to go with the more active fighter who I think is still a little hungrier in a mild upset. 

Prediction

Truax by Split Decision

Sergey Derivyenchenko (12-1 10 KO’s) vs Jack Culcay (25-3 13 KO’s)

Fox Sports 1 Saturday April 13

This is another very interesting fight on a very good Fox Sports 1 card Saturday night. Derivyenchenko is coming off a very close decision loss to one of the best middleweights in the world (Danny Jacobs) and only a little over a year ago Culcay lost a very close decision to one of the best middleweights in the world in Demetrius Andrade. Culcay has fought mainly in Europe, where they are known to protect their fighters with controversial judges and careful opponents. That does not mean Culcay can’t fight, he definitely can, but Derivyenchenko has fought his career in the US and lives and trains out of NYC where he is consistently getting high level sparring with very good fighters. I just think he has a little more of everything and will be too much for Culcay. Fairly competitive early but Sergey pulls away in the middle rounds and leaves no doubt in a good solid fight. 

Prediction

Derivyenchenko Unanimous Decision

Also this weekend:

Saturday April 13

DAZN

Jaime Munguia (32-0 26 KO’s) vs Dennis Hogan (28-1 7 KO’s)

Munguia defends his WBO Junior Middleweight title against Hogan, a good fighter but not on the level of Munguia.

Prediction

Munguia TKO 10

Kyle’s boxing picks 3/16/2019

Saturday March 16 Pay Per View

Mikey Garcia (39-0 30 KO’s) vs Errol Spence (24-0 21 KO’s)

IBF World Welterweight Title

This is a great fight. No other way to say it. Boxing is at its best when you have two undefeated champions, both in their prime, who are willing to put it on the line and this is exactly what this is. I am not a big fan of the pay per view model for boxing and I think it has hurt the sport, especially when most fights on pay per view have been mismatches over the past ten years or so. But this one is worth it and is not a mismatch. Most importantly, you have to recognize that Garcia is moving up two weight divisions from where he is a current champion and one weight division higher than his previous highest weight to take on someone who many believe is the best welter in the world. This is a cause for concern for those picking Garcia and it is understandable. I would rather look at it though as all great fighters over the past century have taken on challenges that many thought were crazy. Think Ali-George Foreman and Sugar Ray Leonard-Marvin Hagler to name two. When you do something like that and win it makes you a legend and I think Garcia understands that. 

I disagree with most of the experts in saying that Spence is the best 147 pound fighter in the world. I have him at number two behind Terrance Crawford but only by a very thin margin. A former Olympian and undefeated champ he is a power punching southpaw who, unlike most lefties, comes forward and looks to take you out. I say this realizing that Spence has a weaker resume than even the two welters I have ranked immediately behind him. (Shawn Porter and Keith Thurman) His last fight was against a virtual no name and before that he defeated Lamont Peterson, a solid fighter but towards the lower end of the top 10. His title winning effort in England against Kell Brook was impressive and his best win. Brook took this fight right after getting his eye socket broken in a very physically taxing fight against GGG at middleweight. That may have had zero effect on Brook but sometimes fights like those take a little something out of you. This will be Spence’s first huge event in the United States and his first pay per view main event. 

Mikey Garcia is a very versatile fighter, a guy who can box and move but also possesses one punch knockout power. He is basic but does everything very well and rarely makes big mistakes. His boxing IQ is very high, most of that due to the fact he comes from a boxing family and has been doing this since he was 6. He first won a world title at 126 pounds and proceeded to win one at 130 and just as his career was about to take off he took a two year layoff due to promotional issues with Top Rank. Coming back he had one tuneup fight, a win by knockout and got a title shot at 135 pounds which he won by knockout. Since then he has won another 3 fights against big names and added a world title at 140 pounds. So while the fight this Saturday is at 147 which will be a career high for Garcia, he does own a world title only one weight division lower. 

I have been going back and forth with my pick for this fight for weeks. My initial reaction to the fight was Spence was just too big and a good big man usually beats a good little man. Usually is a key term though and great fighters upset the odds and I believe Garcia will be remembered as a great fighter. Having said this the size does scare me a little. Seeing them side by side at the press conference there is a noticeable difference. I think come fight time Garcia will close some of that by very smart conditioning and strength training but it will still be there. And while Garcia has shown vicious knockout power at 135 pounds and down he has won both his fights at 140 pounds by decision.(Although in his title winning effort against Sergey Lippinets he scored a clean knockdown). The other win was against Adrien Broner and while Broner is overrated as a fighter he has toughness and a very good chin. The bigger puncher here will be Spence. While Spence is not just a banger,he has skills,  I think Garcia is a better overall fighter with more options. Several things concern me for Garcia though. First, will he be able to land his jab over Spence’s lead right hand. Hitting a southpaw with a jab can be done but it is more difficult and a lot of fighters do not use it as much when fighting a lefty. Second, the size. Even if Garcia jumps out to a lead will he be able to hold on with a bigger stronger very good fighter constantly putting pressure on him. Third, the judges. Texas has a reputation for controversial decisions and Spence is a Texas fighter. If Garcia does enough to win will the judges give a decision in a close fight. While I think punchers are born and not made(Garcia is a natural puncher) and most great punchers in history have brought there power up in weight with them I still find it hard to believe that Garcia will be able to knock out Spence. Spence has shown a very solid chin although he has not faced a great puncher yet. I don’t expect his chin to betray him although I could envision a flash knockdown from a straight right hand if he just tries to walk in on Garcia without using skills, believing the talk that he is just too big for Garcia. My point here is that Garcia will probably have to rely on the judges if he is going to win. This is a coin toss fight for me and at the end of the day I am going to go against the odds and most experts and go with the person who I think is the better overall fighter and who I think has the guts, pride and toughness to pull off an upset. 

Prediction

Garcia by split decision

Kyle’s boxing picks 3/9/2019

Saturday March 9

Fox 8 pm ET Shawn Porter vs Yordenis Ugas

DAZN Joe Smith vs Dmitry Bivol

Fox 8 pm ET

WBC Welterweight Title

Shawn Porter (29-2-1) vs Yordenis Ugas (24-3)

-This is a solid main event for Fox on a Saturday night. Porter is the much more well known fighter and the more accomplished fighter. Ugas is solid though and has been improving and will be coming to fight. Porter is one of the top 5 welters in the world and that says a lot because the division is stacked. He holds wins over Adrien Broner,Paulie Malignaggi and Danny Garcia and lost a very close fight to Keith Thurman. A short stocky fighter, he is very strong for his weight and is extremely aggressive. He gets the job done although it is not always pretty and at times can almost be described as mauling. He has good but not great power and a good chin. He is known as a dirty fighter although in his defense I think most of the time it is unintentional. Headbutts are very common in his fights, as a short aggressive fighter who charges in it is inevitable they are going to happen. Both his losses were close decisions to two very good fighters, Keith Thurman and Kell Brook. 

-Ugas is a Cuban fighter and holds a ton of great experience coming up through the Cuban amateur system which is probably the best in the world. He is skilled with good power and a good chin. Since his last loss, a close decision to contender Amir Imam he has reeled off 9 straight wins including solid ones against Bryant Perella, Thomas Dulorme and Ray Robinson. He has worked his way into this position and I believe he will make the most of it. 

-I think this will end up being very competitive. The way Porter charges in he can be susceptible to getting hit coming in and counterpunched, both things that Ugas is good at. When it comes to skills Ugas is the better fighter but the question here will be can he handle the physicality and energy that Porter brings. A part of me wants to pick the upset but I think Porter is just a little too good and will squeak out a win. 

Prediction

Porter by majority decision

DAZN

Turning Stone Casino

WBA Light Heavy Title

Dmitry Bivol (15-0) vs Joe Smith (24-2)

- This is a fight that puts a very skilled boxer/puncher in Bivol against a pure power puncher in Smith. When it comes to skills this is not close. Bivol had a lot of amateur experience and very quickly started fighting and beating solid pros early in his career. He has wins against Jean Pascal, Sullivan Barrera and Isaac Chilemba. His power is decent but he is undersized at 175 pounds and is planning a move to 168 after this fight. He’s a mover but not a runner. Using good footwork and circling his opponents he steps in with very solid combinations and then steps back out. His punches are very crisp and looks very smooth, the kind of fighter you would watch if you wanted to learn good technical boxing. He has shown one punch power before but as is competition has picked up his style has become more of a boxer than a puncher. 

-Smith is the quintessential blue collar boxer. Decent amateur career but nothing spectacular he built up his career fighting on small club shows in the NYC and Long Island area. He did this all while working a full time construction job. His big break came when on national television as a 25-1 underdog he knocked out top contender Andrew Fonfara in the first round. He parlayed that into an opportunity against Bernard Hopkins, who at 52 was past his best but was still good enough to beat a lot of fighters. Smith dominated the fight and became the first guy to stop Hopkins and sent him into retirement. A loss to contender Sullivan Barrera by decision after that in a fight where he scored an early knockdown but got his jaw broke early and fought the rest of the fight with it but lost a decision. A quick first round KO win in a comeback fight and he is back in the big time. Smith does nothing special when it comes to boxing skills but he is very tough with a good chin and is, if not the best, one of the best pure punchers in the light heavyweight division. If he hits you on the chin he is going to hurt you and he throws bombs and is always going for the KO.

-I think this has the potential to be a one sided fight if Bivol boxes and avoids Smith’s power. The only way Smith wins is if he lands a bomb and knocks Bivol out and I think it is possible but not plausible. The gap in skills makes it hard to pick against Bivol although Smith is tough so I can see it going the distance. Smith will always be in the fight because of his power but against a guy like Bivol it is hard to land that shot. 

Prediction

Bivol by Unanimous Decision

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.