Boxing Challenge

The boxing challenge continues with a six fight weekend with two networks showing competing cards.

ESPN and Top Rank travel to Fresno California for a sold-out house for their hometown contender Jose Ramirez, who will take on Mike Reed in a junior welterweight bout between two undefeated young fighters.
Ramirez and Reed should be an interesting main event with the winner moving into title contention.

The co-feature will fill another of the vacant light heavyweight titles as the IBF belt will go to the winner of the Artur Beterbiev-Enrico Koelling bout.
The fight will be promoted by Top Rank, who surprisingly won a purse bid despite not promoting either fighter.
Beterbiev is a talented bomber, whose career has stalled over late with promotional problems and he should steamroll the light fisted Koelling (6 KO's in 24 wins), who won't be able to keep the pressuring Beterbiev off of him.
A Beterbiev win would give another of the vacant belts from the retirement of Andre Ward to a talented and big punching talent with the WBA title with Dimitry Bivol and the WBO belt favored to return to Sergey Kovalev in December, the light heavys look to be able to make some exciting fights in 2018.

HBO features the return of Daniel Jacobs after his surprisingly strong effort in March against Gennady Golovkin in the renovated former home of the Islanders-the Nassau Coliseum.
The renovation was a good thing considering the times we poked fun at it watching Devils road games there, but the Jacobs opponent in Luis Arias brings some interesting qualities after a nice win in his last outing- a KO over Arif Magonedov, so this isn't a squash.
I'll be interested to see if Jacobs was giving an inspired over his head effort vs Golovkin or has he truly turned a corner in his career.

The other HBO fight carries heavyweight ramifications as top five contender Mariusz Wach battles prospect Jarrell "Big Baby" Miller in Miller's first real test against top ten competition.
Miller appears to have the talent to be a contender, but can he stay in shape enough to do so?
Wach will be a nice test as the durable veteran has gone rounds in both of his tests against Wladimir Klitschko and Alexander Povetkin.

In a non-televised match in the US, Liam Smith and Liam Williams hook up in a junior middleweight rematch from England in a WBO eliminator.
In their first fight, Williams seemed on the verge of pulling a huge upset before what I thought was an intentional headbutt by Smith badly cut Williams and the Williams corner stopped the fight before the tenth round.

I lead the boxing challenge 169-151

Junior Welterweights. 10 Rds
Jose Ramirez vs Mike Reed
R.L: Reed Unanimous Decision
TRS: Ramirez Unanimous Decision

Vacant IBF Light Heavyweight Title 12 Rds
Artur Beterbiev vs Enrico Koelling
R.L: Beterbiev KO 5
TRS: Beterbiev KO 3

Middleweights.12 rds
Daniel Jacobs vs Luis Arias
R.L: Jacobs KO 9
TRS; Jacobs Unanimous Decision

Heavyweights. 12 Rds
Jarrell Miller vs Mariusz Wach
R.L: Miller KO 7
TRS: Miller Unanimous Decision

Junior Middleweights. 12 Rds
Liam Smith vs Liam Williams
R.L: Smith Unanimous Decision
TRS: Williams Split Decision