Friday, August 21, 2020

Boxing Challenge

The boxing weekend will feature matches from each of the major servers with perhaps the biggest bout since boxing's return.

However, we start with a match without American television (to my knowledge) and the quietest comeback of a great champion that I've ever seen.
Former middleweight champion Sergio Martinez returns to the ring at the age of 45 in Spain against Jose Fandino, a fighter of the European class level that has mostly fought in Spain during his career.
Martinez was last in the ring in 2014 when he was battered into defeat by Miguel Cotto and suffered the last in a series of knee injuries.
At his peak, Martinez was a skillful fighter that used beautiful movements and athletic ability to create a unique boxing style that teetered between graceful and awkward to bewilder his opponents, but as his knee problems began after his win over Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and he barely squeaked by perennial challenger Martin Murray before the loss to Cotto in ten rounds of a painful pounding.
Martinez relied on his skill and guile often in his career and he'll need all of that for this comeback to have any success at the world-class level.

Saturday afternoon, DAZN and Matchroom take center stage with a heavyweight tilt between Dillian Whyte and former WBA champion Alexander Povetkin.
Whyte, the WBC's long-time number one contender for first Deontay Wilder and now Tyson Fury, has been "assured" that should he defeat Povetkin he will finally receive his title shot against the winner of Fury-Wilder III.
Most are dubious of this proclamation as should Fury win that fight, he is expected to be named the WBC's "Franchise" champion in order to give the WBC an out for not forcing Fury to face Whyte before a unification fight against Anthony Joshua.
Whyte should have a test against the aging, but dangerous Povetkin, who drew with Michael Hunter and decisioned Hughie Fury in his two bouts since being stopped by Anthony Joshua.
This should have both fighters in front of the other, throwing power punches without a lot of moving around the ring and I wouldn't be surprised if a spectacular knockout occurs.

ESPN Plus will offer a very interesting fight with two strong punchers as former WBO light heavyweight champion faces Joe Smith in the WBO semi-final to crown their light heavyweight title as Canelo Alvarez vacated his title after his win over Sergey Kovalev.
Smith is remembered as knocking Bernard Hopkins into retirement and enters this fight after an exciting decision win over Jesse Hart, but both of his losses have been to lanky boxers in Sullivan Barrera and Dmitry Bivol.
Alvarez isn't quite similar to Barrera and Bivol, but he can box a bit from distance and attempting to use some of those tactics might be his best avenue to victory.
Should Alvarez decide to trade with Smith, he can punch well as he showed in January in his first fight since losing his rematch to Sergey Kovalev, with a spectacular knockout of Michael Seals.
How exciting this fight turns out is up to Alvarez.

The co-feature will see the return of Rob Brant in a middleweight fight against Vitaly Kopylenko.
Brant, who upset Ryota Murata for a minor title in 2018 and was bombed out in two rounds in their July 2019 rematch, will face veteran Vitaly Kopylenko in his first fight since the Murata loss.
Should Brant win, he is contractually obligated to a third fight against Murata.
Kopylenko is solid, but not exceptional as both of his losses were to fighters on that level in decision losses to former world title challengers Willie Monroe Jr. and Steven Butler.
Kopylenko's split decision loss to Butler last July was his last fight, so he won't have an edge in activity over Brant.

And then there's PBC and Fox.
The network announced its three fall cards during their last show (an excellent fight between Jamal James and Thomas Dulorme) to the groans and winces around the boxing world with this one being the first of the trio with what should be an American boxing record with fighters named Sebastian in both the main event and the co-main event.

Shawn Porter makes his return after losing his WBC welterweight title in a terrific fight to Errol Spence in a WBC eliminator against Sebastian Formella of Germany.
I wrote about the WBC, WBA, and PBC as the promoter dropping the ball in not having Porter face Yordenis Ugas in a rematch of their 2019 fight that saw Porter win a controversial split decision.
Instead, we get Porter against the overmatched Formella on this PBC/Fox card and Ugas in a WBA eliminator on another Fox card as a heavy favorite over Abel Ramos and two yawn-worthy main events.
Formella is undefeated but has fought every fight but one in Germany (the other was in Sweden, which for boxing is even weaker in competition), and against no one that you have remotely heard of.
Unless Formella has something in store that no one expects, Porter should cruise to an easy victory here.

The co-feature is another ho-hum affair with undefeated junior middleweight Sebastian Fundora against veteran Nathaniel Gallimore in a ten rounder.
Fundora, he of the 6'5 height, is taking his next step up the ladder and give his team credit, they have been trying to upgrade the opposition as his last four opponents were a combined 47-1 entering their fights with Fundora with only Jamontay Clark managing a draw against him.
Gallimore is a durable veteran, who took hard-punching Erickson Lubin the twelve round distance in his last fight, has beaten WBA/IBF champion Jeison Rosario and has lost to former champion Julian Williams, and WBO champion Patrick Teixeira, so I have doubts that Fundora is able to take Gallimore out, but it doesn't seem that this will be the most exciting fight either.

In the boxing challenge, I lead Ramon Malpica 89-79.

Middleweights. 10 Rds
Sergio Martinez vs Jose Fandino
R.L: Martinez KO 5
TRS: Martinez KO 3

Heavyweights 12 Rds
Dillian Whyte vs Alexander Povetkin
R.L: Whyte Split Decision
TRS: Whyte Unanimous Decision

Light Heavyweights. 12 Rds
Eleider Alvarez vs Joe Smith
Both: Alvarez Unanimous Decision

Middleweights. 10 Rds
Rob Brant vs Vitaly Kopylenko
R.L: Brant KO 8
TRS: Brant Unanimous Decision

Welterweights. 12 Rds
Shawn Porter vs Sebastian Formella
R.L: Porter KO 6
TRS: Porter KO 9

Junior Middleweights. 10 Rds
Sebastian Fundora vs Nathaniel Gallimore
R.L: Fundora KO 4
TRS: Fundora Unanimous Decision

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