defending his trinket (every time I use that word, I think of Burl Ives as the Snowman in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer).
Of course, rather than fighting each other and settling this dispute in the ring- both gentlemen are fighting on the same night, in different cities on different platforms, but with one thing in common- overmatched opponents.
On Showtime, the WBA champion that shouldn't be ( was given a title that had been won in the ring, that had not been stripped or vacated by that fighter) in the talented Gervonta Davis defends against late replacement Hugo Ruiz in place of the injured Abner Mares.
I wasn't excited about Mares, despite his resume', against Davis believing he was too small and not strong enough to hold off "the Tank", but an eye injury took Mares out of the picture.
Enter Ruiz, who was a champion at junior featherweight, currently fights at featherweight and fought three weeks ago.
Ruiz will be in shape, but also will be undersized and outgunned as Mares would have been, but with even fewer offensive weapons.
This could be ugly, but considering Davis fought just once last year and needs to be in action, I'm Ok with Ruiz as a very late substitute, but what I still cannot get past was Davis-Mares in the first place, which really looked like a way that could have gotten Mares hurt.
The undercard is nothing to get even mildly excited about with former junior lightweight champion Javier Fortuna facing Sharif Bogere at lightweight and Erickson Lubin starting his road back against former junior middleweight champion Ishe Smith.
Fortuna fell out of the ring in his last fight for a no-contest against Adrian Granados, while Bogere has lost just once, but that loss was in the only fight against a level higher in opponent against Richar Abril.
Lubin, who was touted as a future star by many observers, fights for the first time in ten months and for the first time against good opposition since his less than one round flameout in his bid for the WBC title against Jermell Charlo.
Former champion Smith, who has become a trialhorse at this stage of his career, should be a test as he isn't a big puncher that should test Lubin's chin, but has not been knocked out in his ten defeats.
DAZN places a fighter that won the "real" WBA title in the ring in their main event as the entertaining Alberto Machado in what appears to be an overmatched Andrew Cancio.
Machado was spectacular in taking out Yaundale Evans in one round in one of the last fights televised by HBO and really could use some stronger opponents.
I think Machado has the potential be a top-notch fighter, but he needs to face the other top contenders in his division,
Undefeated Rey Vargas defends his WBC junior featherweight title against journeyman Franklin Manzanilla in a 'Showcase" (I use the term as lightly as you would think) title defense.
The most fun match of the night is with the featherweights in what is being reported as a huge grudge match with former title challenger Joseph Diaz against Charles Huerta.
The fighters appear to be two different levels of fighters, but this could be an exciting bout to watch.
Sunday will have ESPN and Top Rank on a rare night of the week with WBC junior welterweight champion Jose Ramirez defending his belt against Jose Zepeda.
Ramirez is a strong favorite in his hometown of Fresno and might be the best in the division.
Zepeda is a good puncher but looks to be a one prayer pony here.
Ray Beltran returns from his loss to Jose Pedraza against Hiroki Okada of Japan.
The undefeated Okada won his last fight in Fresno over Cristian Coria, but if Beltran struggles against Okada, Beltran could be looked at as definitely slipping in skill.
In the boxing challenge, Ramon Malpica and myself are tied at 20.
WBA Junior Lightweight Title. 12 Rds
Gervonta Davis vs Hugo Ruiz
R.L: Davis KO 7
TRS: Davis KO 4
Lightweights. 10 Rds
Javier Fortuna vs Sharif Bogere
Both; Fortuna Unanimous Decision
Junior Middleweights. 10 Rds
Erickson Lubin vs Ishe Smith
Both: Lubin Unanimous Decision
Junior Lightweights. 12 Rds
Alberto Machado vs Andrew Cancio
R.L: Machado KO 9
TRS: Machado KO 6
WBC Junior Featherweight Title. 12 Rds
Rey Vargas vs Franklin Manzanilla
Both: Vargas Unanimous Decision
Featherweights. 10 Rds
Joseph Diaz vs Charles Huerta
Both: Diaz Unanimous Decision
WBC Junior Welterweight Title.12 Rds
Jose Ramirez vs Jose Zepeda
R.L: Ramirez KO 8
TRS:Ramirez KO 7
Junior Welterweights 10 Rds
Ray Beltran vs Hiroki Okada
R.L: Beltran KO 10
TRS: Beltran Unanimous Decision
No comments:
Post a Comment