Fight Preview (June 15th)

Mikey Garcia vs. Juan Manuel Lopez 

The main event Saturday night was supposed to be a featherweight title fight between Mikey Garcia and Juan Manuel Lopez.  That was until Friday's weigh-in when Garcia came in two pounds over the featherweight limit.  Now the only man who can leave the ring with a title belt will be Lopez.  Although that is a big disappointment, this fight will still be all action, especially since it renews the best rivalry in the sport, Mexico vs. Puerto Rico.  Even though Garcia was born in California, he is proud of his Mexican heritage and fights like a true Mexican warrior.

Garcia is one of the most talent boxers in the sport and will no doubt break into the top 10 p4p rankings very soon.  Garcia can't be compared to anyone else because his fighting style is so unique.  He starts fights off slowly by studying his opponents and dissecting their style and game plan.  Then in the middle rounds Garcia really goes to work and usually ends the night early via spectacular knockout.  He holds a perfect record of 31-0 with a ridiculous 26 knockouts.  In Garcia's last fight against tough veteran Orlando Salido, Garcia dropped him four times before a broken nose suffered by Garcia forced the fight to go to the cards in the 8th.  Until that point it was Garcia's most impressive fight to date.  He dominated nearly every second of action he was in the ring.  Against Lopez he should come out in typical Garcia fashion, starting slow until he figures Lopez out and then going to work for the knockout.  

For his part Lopez will try to confuse Garcia early and force the action.  One thing that doesn't look good for Lopez is the fact that he has also fought Salido and in both fights was knocked out.  However in Lopez's two most recent fights he has looked sharp against lesser competition scoring knockouts in the 9th and 2nd rounds respectivly.  As much power as Garcia has, Lopez may posses more.  He has a solid record of 33-2 with a scarey 30 knockouts.  His only two losses were both knockouts against Salido.  Lopez has fast hands and likes the action fast and furious.  If even one round in this fight isn't exciting it would come as a shock to everyone watching.

This fight has a legitimate chance to be the Fight of the Year.  It showcases two all action sluggers who love to hit and don't mind taking a few punches to land their own.  If Garcia has his way the action will start off somewhat slow and build in intensity in the middle rounds.  For his part Lopez will look to bring the action to Garcia early and often and try to overwhelm him, he just needs to be careful not to leave his chin exposed or Garcia could end the fight early.  This fight is can't miss.

PREDICTION: They are both amazing talents but Mikey Garcia is more disciplined in his game plan and doesn't have the questionable chin of Lopez.  I expect Garcia to win by 10th round knockout in a truly great fight.      

Terence Crawford vs. Alejandro Sanabria 

This Saturday HBO is treating it's fans with two very solid fights.  The first fight of the night will be a 10 round lightweight fight that will pit a veteran Mexican fighter against a young American one.  Boxing fans should recognize that American fighter from his last fight which also took place on HBO when he was a late fill in and fought Breidis Prescott and utterly dominated him.  American fans probably don't know Alejandro Sanabria due to the fact that this will be his first fight outside of Mexico, but he is no easy task for Crawford.

Crawford was a virtual unknown commodity until his big upset of Prescott, who is famous for his big knockout of Amir Khan.  Crawford looked so impressive in that fight he had Max Kellerman drooling and drawing up comparisons to defensive wizard Pernell Whitaker.  Prescott was Crawford's first real test and it came at junior welterweight which is one division higher than Crawford usually fights in, making the win even more impressive.  Now that Crawford is back in the weak lightweight division he has to be considered a top dog.  His career record is 20-0 with 15 knockouts which is a high number considering that he is a defensive counter puncher and not a slugger.  The man who will be across from in the ring likes to slug, which should make for easy pickings for Crawford, unless Sanabria fights the fight of his life, and get s a little lucky.

This will be Sanabria's first fight outside of Mexico but the fight will be in Dallas, Texas so there should be a large contingent of Mexican fans in the building which  should make him feel more comfortable.  Sanabria is a tough fighter who likes to slug and always looks for the big knockout.  His career record is 34-1-1 with 25 knockouts.  Sanabria doesn't posses big one punch knockout power, but he does have heavy hands that wear his opponents down until they are ready to be put out of their misery.  That might be impossible against the great defensive fighter Crawford, especially since Sanabria doesn't have particularly fast hands.  Sanabria needs to keep this fight at close range and work the body consistently for a chance at the upset.

While this fight might not be the most exciting as far as action, it will be fun to watch Crawford dominate the ring.  His defensive skills and counter punching are both well above average and he is the type of talent who can be a title holder for a very long time.  And if nothing else it will be entertaining to watch and listen to Max Kellerman gush about him.

PREDICTION: Terence Crawford  will look excellent as usual and easily outpoint Sanabria en route to a unanimous decision victory.