Sergio Martinez vs. Martin Murray
For most of his career Sergio Martinez was considered a fighter without a country. He was born in Argentina, moved to Spain, and then finally made the jump to the U.S. now residing in California. But after his recent stretch of outstanding fights it seems the fans of Argentina have embraced him as their own. Which is why this Saturday night Martinez will be fighting Martin Murray in a massive soccer stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Ever since his extremely close majority decision loss to Paul Williams in 2010, Martinez has been on a mission to destroy. He has fought six times since then and has won them all, including four knockouts. Most notably his absolute destruction of Paul Williams in their rematch where in the opening minute of round 2 Martinez landed a perfect left on the chin of Williams and sent him to the canvass hard, which you can see here... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koe4Sm8nQPU. In that time Martinez has also beat big names such as Kelly Pavlik and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Martinez has a very impressive record of 50-2-2 with 28 knockouts and is ranked #2 in the top 10 P4P rankings. He is very hard to fight against due to his awkward fighting style. He leaves his hands down, sticks his chin out, moves in and out with ease, and punches from seemingly every angle possible. All of those factors will make a very hard fight for Martin Murray.
Murray is not very well known in the United States which is due to the fact that he has never fought outside of his homeland of the U.K. It will be a big test for Murray to see how he handles fighting in front of what is sure to be a huge, loud, pro Martinez crowd. Although Murray is undefeated with a record of 25-0-1 with 11 knockouts, most of those fights have come against boxers with nowhere near the talent level of Martinez. His biggest match came against Felix Sturm and that fight ended in a draw. Murray seems to be a very similar fighter to other Martinez victims, Matthew Macklin and Darren Barker. Murray will need to have the fight of his life if he hopes to win and not just survive.
This fight being in Argentina should be just a showcase for Martinez in front of his home fans. But Martinez is 38 years old and coming off major knee injuries from his fight against Chavez Jr. so many boxing fans view him as ripe for the picking. Whether or not Murray has the skills to do it still remains to be seen. Martinez should be able to stick and move and frustrate Murray, he just needs to be careful not to get caught by any good punches while he sticks punches with his other hand down. Both of Martinez's fights against Barker and Macklin were more competitive then expected, and this may be the same. Hopefully it ends up being more than a hometown showcase.
PREDICTION: Sergio Martinez wins via 10th round knockout, in a solid fight.
Luis Carlos Abregu vs. Antonin Decarie
The first fight from Argentina will be a showcase for another tough Argentine fighter Luis Carlos Abregu. He will be taking on the light punching Canadian Antonin Decarie. Being that this fight is also in Argentina, obviously the promoters wanted a good Argentine fighter with a good chance of winning in dominant fashion, and that might be exactly what they got.
Abregu is one of the most underrated fighters in boxing today, which seems to be a theme among Argentine fighters such as Marcos Maidana and Lucas Matthysse. While Abregu might be the least well known, after Martinez he may be the best Argentine fighter of the bunch. His record is 34-1 with a monstrous 28 knockouts. His only career loss came against the #9 P4P fighter in the world, Timothy Bradley. Since that loss Abregu has fought five times and ended every fight early. Abregu is simply a devastating puncher with a rock solid chin, if you're not ready for a war, do not step into the ring with Abregu. Hopefully Decarie is ready.
If Abregu is the slugger Decarie is the boxer. He is not a strong puncher and will need to use his boxing skills to score a win on the scorecards. His record is 27-1 with only 8 knockouts. With Abregu's strong chin Decarie has no chance of dropping him. Decarie also has only fought outside of Canada one time, so going to Argentina will be a big adjustment. Decaries may have a very impressive record, but that is only because his competition isn't impressive at all. Much like Martin Murray, Decarie will need to have the fight of his life if he has any shot at the upset.
If this fight goes past 6 rounds it will be because Decarie is boxing at a high level and not letting Abregu land his power punches, however that is a big if. Abregu should be able to walk his opponent down all night and ware him down. Abregu is a great body puncher, something that makes boxer's stop in their tracks, which would be a very dangerous thing for Decarie. This is a fight between Decarie's quickness and boxing skills and Abregu's power and toughness.
PREDICITON: Luis Carlos Abregu ends the night early a 7th round knockout.
Chris Arreola vs. Bermane Stiverne
The only fight on Saturday nights HBO card not taking place in Argentina might be the best fight of all. That fight will be in Ontario, California and pits two heavyweight sluggers against each other. It will be Chris Arreola against Bermane Stiverne. While neither of these fighters can be accused of being in elite physical condition, they can be accused of being two of the heaviest hitters in the heavyweight division.
Of the two fighters Arreola is the one with the more impressive opponent list, which is because he has taken on Vitali Klitschko and Tomasz Adamek. Even though Arreola lost both those fights, that is nothing to be ashamed of, considering Klitschko and Adamek are two of the best heavyweights in the world. Arreola's record is a good 35-2 with a dangerous 30 knockouts. He never comes into the ring in shape and looks more like a sumo wrestler than an elite boxer. Despite his size though he fights like a much lighter man, throwing a high volume of punches and good combinations. The man on the other side of the ring may not have faced the same level of talent, but he may be an even better puncher.
Stiverne is a fighter who also doesn't come into the ring in elite shape, but he can never be taken lightly. His record is 22-1-1 with a ridiculous 20 knockouts. The only knocks against him are that he hasn't fought any top level talent, and his lone loss was a knockout. Arreola represents a big step up in competition for Stiverne, so this fight will tell a lot about his long term future.
The best way to describe what this fight will probably be is "bombs away." Both men throw a ton of punches and every one has bad intentions. There shouldn't be much fancy footwork, instead expect two fighters to plant their feet and go for the knockout. For big time boxing fans who like slugfests, don't miss this fight.
PREDICTION: Chris Arreola continues his rise to the top of the heavyweight division with 10th round stoppage.
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