Saturday, January 7, 2023

Boxing Challenge

  The 2023 boxing challenge begins Saturday with an excellent PPV from Washington D.C. and PBC with standout minor beltholder Gervonta Davis attempting to take his name out of the headlines for the wrong reasons and keep it there for the right ones.

Davis has a tentative agreement to face Ryan Garcia in a battle of young superstars needing a top opponent later this year but both fighters decided to approach that fight in varying manners.

Garcia agreed to a fight against slightly past his prime veteran Mercito Gesta and then decided to face Davis without a tuneup.

Davis decided to take an interim fight and it isn't a squash either as the opponent is the WBA junior lightweight champion Hector Luis Garcia, who is entering the fight after two upsets in 2022 that earned him a title shot by dominating highly regarded Chris Colbert, and won the title over Roger Gutierrez.

Garcia is not the normal foe that one selects for a stay-busy affair, so give Davis plenty of credit for accepting him as an opponent as I think this could be interesting for a few rounds and while Davis usually gets stronger in the second half of his appearances, it's fair to wonder if his various legal issues have distracted him during his training.

If that's the case, Garcia may have an opportunity for another upset and this one would be the largest one of all!

The three supporting fights have stars returning to action and one evenly matched battle that could be the best of the card.

The welterweight that no one wants to face fights for an IBF interim title that is worthless other than it will force Errol Spence to eventually face him or give up his title, as Jaron "Boots" Ennis will take on virtually unknown Ukrainian Karen Chukhadzhian.

Chukhadzhian has only one loss in twenty-two bouts and has a notable amateur record but his best wins are over former fringe contenders Ali Funeka and Ryan Martin and I've seen little that makes me think he can do anything effective against Boots Ennis.

It's sad for boxing and its fans that Ennis is fighting the opponents that he is forced to fight, receiving no challenge at all because no one wishes to face him.

I hope that ends soon but I have a feeling that it will not for a while.

Former WBO junior middleweight and middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade returns as a super middleweight with PBC in an attempt to have a big fight before his career ends.

The undefeated and generally unthreatened Andrade has made some poor career decisions but his style and effectiveness have left few willing to take the risk of a defeat against a skilled opponent.

Still, Andrade turns thirty-five next month and it's not unreasonable to wonder if he may have already passed the peak against lesser opposition, so give him credit for giving one final push by signing with PBC to try to find an elite-level boxer willing to fight him.

Andrade's opponent is veteran Demond Nicholson, who has won four in a row against clubfighters after lasting ten rounds as the first opponent to take Edgar Berlanga more than one round.

Nicholson shouldn't be a threat to defeat Andrade but it'll be interesting to see if Andrade steps up the pace and attempts to have a spectacular PBC debut by winning by knockout.

Welterweights Rashidi Ellis and Roiman Villa battle in an eliminator in a fight that could go to either combatant.

The undefeated Ellis appeared to be a title contender when he handed Alexis Rocha his only loss in 2020 but that was his only fight in 2020, didn't fight again until July 2022 and hasn't fought since.

Villa has 24 KO's in his 25 wins and in his last fight on SHObox, looked very impressive in whipping undefeated Janelson Bocachica via unanimous decision.

Ellis is a major jump from Bocachica for Villa, so I lean towards Ellis slightly but don't count Villa out.

Boxing Challenge

Lightweights 12 Rds
Gervonta Davis vs Hector Luis Garcia
Ramon Malpica: Davis KO 8
TRS: Davis KO 10
Vince Samano: Davis KO 6

Welterweights 12 Rds
Jaron Ennis vs Karen Chukhadzhian 
R.L: Ennis KO 5
TRS: Ennis KO 2
V.S: Ennis KO 3

Super Middleweights 10 Rds
Demetrius Andrade vs Demond Nicholson
R.L: Andrade KO 6
TRS: Andrade KO 5
V.S.: Andrade Unanimous Decision

Welterweights. 12 Rds
Rashidi Ellis vs Roiman Villa
All: Ellis Unanimous Decision

 

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