Boxing Challenge

        The boxing challenge is all about Queens, as Riyadh Season/DAZN presents a (sign) Pay Per View card from the tennis stadium that hosts the U.S. Open.

Editor's Note: I'm very interested in the female Friday night card from Madison Square Garden, with a special interest in one of my favorite fighters, Ellie Scotney, risking her IBF and WBO junior featherweight titles in a unification fight against WBC champion Yamileth Mercado.

Scotney would win via unanimous decision.

It is a great card, and I considered including many of those fights in the challenge, but decided against it as I'm not familiar enough with all the competitors on the card.

The main event will be a super middleweight showdown as Edgar Berlanga and Hamzah Sheeraz throw down in a twelve-round bout. 

Berlanga has won a squash match since his game but overmatched defeat to Canelo Alvarez. While Sheeraz rises to super middleweight after a surprising draw against WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames in a fight that Sheeraz was favored to win, most felt Adames deserved the decision.

Both fighters have power, but neither has knocked out a world-class fighter with the arguable exception of Sheeraz's knockout of Austin "Ammo" Williams. Both have things to prove, which could make this an entertaining shootout.

The co-feature is what I would have selected as the "true" main event, as WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson defends against the universal top contender in the division, William Zepeda.

Stevenson stopped last-minute replacement, Josh Padley, in nine rounds in February, but won two boring fights in his two wins before Padley.

Zepeda mowed through all his opponents before his two recent fights against Tevin Farmer, with Zepeda winning the pair by narrow decisions.

Stevenson is the more talented fighter, but Zepeda's volume punching may be unmatched in the sport and in the endless rock/paper/scissors of boxing- Volume puncher often beats boxer (boxer beats puncher and puncher beats volume puncher).

Stevenson could throw a shutout, and I wouldn't be surprised, but Stevenson's never been in a dogfight, and if Zepeda can draw Stevenson into one, all bets are off.

Alberto Puello defends his WBC junior welterweight title against former IBF champion Subriel Matias in what sets up as an entertaining scrap.

Puello has won his two most recent fights by split decisions over Gary Antuanne Russell and Sandor Martin, while the enigmatic Matias has often looked like a dominant fighter but occasionally throws in a clunker, such as his title loss to Liam Paro.

If Matias is at his best, he has too much power for Puello, but a listless Matias could be outpointed by Puello.

The opener is in the light heavyweight division as David Morrell returns after suffering his first loss to David Benavidez.

Morrell lost by a unanimous decision to Benavidez and looks to bounce back against Imam Khataev, who is a noted amateur star and has won his first ten fights as a pro in his base in Montreal.

Khataev is talented but faces his best opponent in Morrell- this could be the most competitive match of the evening.

Boxing Challenge

WBC Lightweight Title 12 Rds

Shakur Stevenson vs William Zepeda

Ramon Malpica and TRS: Stevenson Unanimous Decision
Vince Samano: Zepeda Split Decision

Super Middleweights 12 Rds

Edgar Berlanga vs Hamzah Sheeraz

R.L: Berlanga Unanimous Decision
TRS: Sheeraz Unanimous Decision

V.S: Sheeraz KO 8 

WBC Junior Welterweight Title 12 Rds

Alberto Puello vs Subriel Matias

R.L: Matias KO 10
TRS and V.S.: Matias Unanimous Decision

Light Heavyweights.10 Rds

David Morrell vs Iman Khataev

R.L: Morrell Unanimous Decision
TRS: Khataev Unanimous Decision
V.S: Morrell KO 6