Deontay Wilder vs. Sergei Liakhovich: This Friday on Showtime will be a main event for fans who love heavyweight knockouts. The fight will be a 10 round affair in the heavyweight division and will feature big time American prospect Deontay Wilder (28-0, 28 KO) taking on gatekeeper Sergei Liakhovich (25-5, 16 KO). Wilder is somewhat of a throwback in the heavyweight division because he doesn't weigh a ton and can be described as lanky for his height of 6'7''. Wilder looks like a guy who could have been fighting in the days of Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. He also possesses very fast hands for a heavyweight which is unusual in that division today. Not much is known about Wilder's defense because at this point in his young career he isn't fighting anyone with a chance to hurt him. He seems very relaxed in the ring waiting for his opening to land a power punch and hurt his opponent but when he has them hurt he tends to get overly aggressive and extremely wild. Wilder's opponent is a very different type of fighter and is more inline with today's heavyweight. He can be described as plodding and usually has some water in the basement. He has been in the ring with much better competition than Wilder has and that could play a roll in the fight. Liakhovich's last fight was a loss to another American heavyweight prospect Bryant Jennings and he now seems like more of a tough challenge for a young prospect instead of a prospect himself. Of Liakhovich's 5 losses 4 of them have come via knockout which doesn't bode well for a fight against Wilder. I expect Wilder to get a big knockout win in the 7th round, possibly setting up a interesting fight with Jennings.
Francisco Vargas vs. Brandon Bennett: This fight will be a 10 round bout in the junior lightweight division with two fighters who have a combined record of 32-0-1. That fight will be between Francisco Vargas (16-0-1, 13 KO) and Brandon Bennett (16-0, 7 KO) in a situation where someones 0 must go. Both of these fighters are still very raw and haven't faced any notable competition so when they face each other the fans should get to see who is for real. Vargas is a typical Mexican fighter in that he always comes forward and shows tremendous courage. He throws very crisp punches and works both the head and body very effectively. Against Bennett he will need to break down the body because Bennett is always in great shape. Bennett has been tested even less than Vargas has though and this will be by far his hardest opponent. Bennett is a southpaw which could help him because Vargas probably hasn't fought many of them. While both of these fighters have unbeaten records I think Vargas is the more talented of the two. I think Vargas will be too fast and accurate for Bennett and slowly break him down en route to a unanimous decision.
Jermall Charlo vs. Antwone Smith: This entire Showtime card is packed with up and coming fighters looking to prove themselves in their respective divisions. This fight is no different, it will be a 10 round junior middleweight fight with two boxers looking to make a name for themselves in a deep division. Those two fighters are Jermall Charlo (14-0, 10 KO) and Antwone Smith (23-4-1, 12 KO). Charlo definitely has the higher ceiling and you can bet his promotional team is hoping that at this point Smith is nothing more than a stepping stone. Charlo is a very aggressive fighter who looks for the knockout early and often but he needs to be careful with the much more experienced Smith. This will be Charlo's first scheduled 10 rounder and he has never been deeper than 6 rounds. For his part Smith has been 10 round numerous times including his last win against a faded Jose Luis Castillo. The safe money is probably with the veteran Smith and there is a very good chance Charlo will get exposed but I have a feeling Charlo will come out very fast and outwork Smith on his way to a majority decision win.
Gary Russell Jr. vs. Juan Ruiz: The last fight on this card will no doubt frustrate big time boxing fans. That is because Gary Russell Jr. (22-0, 13 KO) the 2011 Prospect of the Year will once again be fighting an opponent who is easy pickings. He will be taking on Juan Ruiz (23-11, 7 KO) a fighter who has no power at all and is coming off six losses in a row and is 1-9 in his last 10 fights. It is a complete joke that at this point in his career Russell Jr. is still taking on fighters at the skill level of Ruiz. It wasn't long ago that every boxing fan was buzzing about who would be better Russell Jr. or Adrien Broner and now that question seems silly. While Broner is taking on high level talent, Russell Jr. still continues to languish in obscurity. Ruiz will be a game fighter and has never been stopped but should be no match for Russell Jr. whatsoever. Russell Jr. is highly skilled so it is questionable why his promotional team is still being so overly careful with him but if he doesn't take a step up in competition soon fans will be quick to turn their backs on him. I expect Russell Jr. to easily outbox Ruiz all night on his way to an easy unanimous decision
Francisco Vargas vs. Brandon Bennett: This fight will be a 10 round bout in the junior lightweight division with two fighters who have a combined record of 32-0-1. That fight will be between Francisco Vargas (16-0-1, 13 KO) and Brandon Bennett (16-0, 7 KO) in a situation where someones 0 must go. Both of these fighters are still very raw and haven't faced any notable competition so when they face each other the fans should get to see who is for real. Vargas is a typical Mexican fighter in that he always comes forward and shows tremendous courage. He throws very crisp punches and works both the head and body very effectively. Against Bennett he will need to break down the body because Bennett is always in great shape. Bennett has been tested even less than Vargas has though and this will be by far his hardest opponent. Bennett is a southpaw which could help him because Vargas probably hasn't fought many of them. While both of these fighters have unbeaten records I think Vargas is the more talented of the two. I think Vargas will be too fast and accurate for Bennett and slowly break him down en route to a unanimous decision.
Jermall Charlo vs. Antwone Smith: This entire Showtime card is packed with up and coming fighters looking to prove themselves in their respective divisions. This fight is no different, it will be a 10 round junior middleweight fight with two boxers looking to make a name for themselves in a deep division. Those two fighters are Jermall Charlo (14-0, 10 KO) and Antwone Smith (23-4-1, 12 KO). Charlo definitely has the higher ceiling and you can bet his promotional team is hoping that at this point Smith is nothing more than a stepping stone. Charlo is a very aggressive fighter who looks for the knockout early and often but he needs to be careful with the much more experienced Smith. This will be Charlo's first scheduled 10 rounder and he has never been deeper than 6 rounds. For his part Smith has been 10 round numerous times including his last win against a faded Jose Luis Castillo. The safe money is probably with the veteran Smith and there is a very good chance Charlo will get exposed but I have a feeling Charlo will come out very fast and outwork Smith on his way to a majority decision win.
Gary Russell Jr. vs. Juan Ruiz: The last fight on this card will no doubt frustrate big time boxing fans. That is because Gary Russell Jr. (22-0, 13 KO) the 2011 Prospect of the Year will once again be fighting an opponent who is easy pickings. He will be taking on Juan Ruiz (23-11, 7 KO) a fighter who has no power at all and is coming off six losses in a row and is 1-9 in his last 10 fights. It is a complete joke that at this point in his career Russell Jr. is still taking on fighters at the skill level of Ruiz. It wasn't long ago that every boxing fan was buzzing about who would be better Russell Jr. or Adrien Broner and now that question seems silly. While Broner is taking on high level talent, Russell Jr. still continues to languish in obscurity. Ruiz will be a game fighter and has never been stopped but should be no match for Russell Jr. whatsoever. Russell Jr. is highly skilled so it is questionable why his promotional team is still being so overly careful with him but if he doesn't take a step up in competition soon fans will be quick to turn their backs on him. I expect Russell Jr. to easily outbox Ruiz all night on his way to an easy unanimous decision
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