Miguel Cotto vs. Delvin Rodriguez
It
wasn't long ago that Miguel Cotto was the third biggest fighter in the
sport, standing only behind Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. It has
been years since Cotto hasn't fought on PPV but following back to back
losses he finds himself on regular HBO. His opponent for this fight
will be a veteran of ESPN's Friday Night Fights, Delvin Rodriguez. Although Rodriguez might not be the biggest name in the sport he is a quality fighter and should give Cotto a good test in this 12 round junior middleweight fight.
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| Cotto gave Mayweather a run for his money |
Cotto
is looking to get back on track after losing his last two fights to
Floyd Mayweather and Austin Trout. Although he did look slow against
Trout, he gave Mayweather all he could handle, even bloodying the champs
nose. It still remains to be seen which Cotto will enter the ring on
Saturday night but at this point in his career all his ring wars may
have taken their toll. Cotto should be a future inductee into the
boxing Hall of Fame and has a career record of 37-4 with a very strong
30 knockouts. What has made Cotto so popular throughout his career is
his willingness to take on the best. Cotto has fought Mayweather,
Pacquiao, Margarito, Mosley, and Judah and always enters the ring in
great shape and ready to fight. Although Cotto has had numerous
trainers throughout his career his style has never changed but his new trainer Freddie Roach may have taught this old dog a few new tricks. Cotto is an
orthodox fighter who always comes forward behind a high guard and loves
to apply pressure and work the body. Unfortunately his style has also
seen him take a tremendous amount of punishment. If Cotto isn't a shot
fighter he should be able to handle Rodriguez. However fighters who
have been in as many wars as Cotto can often turn very old very fast so
Rodriguez could be fighting Cotto at the perfect time.
If
Rodriguez were to win this fight it would be by far the biggest victory
of his career. Rodriguez is best known for his fights on Friday Night
Fights, most specifically his 2011 Fight of the Year candidate against
Pawel Wolak. Big time boxing fans can always be assured a great action
fight when Rodriguez steps into the ring, something that has made him
very popular in recent years. Rodriguez does everything pretty well but
nothing great which is probably why he has never been successful when
he steps up to the top level of talent. Rodriguez has a career record
of 28-6-3 with only 16 knockouts. He doesn't have one punch knockout
power but he does have the ability to wear his opponent down with
constant pressure and punching. This fight may finally provide
Rodriguez the chance to beat a top level fighter but he has to be
extremely sharp and shouldn't stand and trade punches with Cotto on the
inside. Instead Rodriguez should focus on lateral movement to frustrate
the slower footed Cotto.
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| Rodriguez's legendary fight against Wolak |
PREDICTION: Delvin Rodriguez is a good fighter but Miguel Cotto will prove to be to much to handle. I expect Cotto to win this fight by the way of majority decision.
Wladimir Klitschko vs. Alexander Povetkin
Another fight happening on Saturday will be one of the biggest heavyweight fights in recent memory. It will be 12 round fight that will showcase Wladimir Klitschko putting all of his title belts on the line against Alexander Povetkin. This is a fight that has been discussed for years now and almost happened a few years ago before Povetkin's trainer at the time, Teddy Atlas advised him not to take it. Well it is finally happening and could have fans witness a changing of the guard.
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| Klitschko with his many titles |
Klitschko has been the reigning king of the heavyweight division for a long time and has also been very underrated during that time. The reason that he has been so underrated is because many fans feel that he hasn't had to fight top level fighters that champions of the past have had to go through. Still Klitschko has beaten everyone he was supposed to and holds a career record of 60-3 with 51 knockouts and hasn't lost a fight since 2004. Klitschko has been so successful in part because of his size. He stands at 6'7'' and uses every inch to his advantage. Klitschko fights behind a stiff jab that he uses constantly. He always keeps his hands low, especially the left which is his jab hand and seems to shoot out of his hip. Klitschko is very intelligent in the ring and uses his jab to keep his distance from his opponent so he can set up his thunderous right hand. One thing that has dogged Klitschko throughout his career is his chin. While he does have a solid chin all three of his losses have come by the way of knockout so he needs to be careful against Povetkin. Klitschko's footwork isn't the best and he can be described as lumbering but his world class jab usually more than makes up for his lack of foot speed. This is a very intriguing fight not only because it be a changing of the guard but also because the two fighters couldn't be more different.
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| Can Povetkin shock the world? |
Povetkin never looks like he is in great shape, where Klitschko always does so it is funny that Klitschko is the lumbering one. Povetkin is a very good boxer especially for the heavyweight division. He has good reflexes and moves in and out very well. Povetkin also possesses extremely fast hands for someone his size and he loves to show that speed off. He has a career record of 28-0 with 18 knockouts so he doesn't really have that one punch knockout power. Povetkin instead uses his boxing skills and fast hands to outwork his opponent and wear them throughout the fight. Most fighters who face Klitschko try to get inside and bully him and Klitschko usually responds by embarrassing them. However Povetkin is a very different animal, he doesn't need to fight on the inside and will not fight like a statue unlike many of Klitschko's past opponents. Povetkin should give Klitschko a very tough fight because he should be constantly moving. If Povetkin can avoid Klitschko's jab he could have a very successful night.
This fight probably won't provide much action but that doesn't mean it won't be intense. The thought of Povetkin upsetting Klitschko and being crowned the new heavyweight champion of the world is enough to get any big time boxing fan excited. This fight will come down to the jab and right hand of Klitschko against the speed and movement of Povetkin. Usually Klitschko is able to frustrate his opponents with his size and jab but on Saturday night it could be Povetkin who does the frustrating.
PREDICTION: Picking against Wladimir Klitschko is never a smart thing to do but I have a gut feeling that Alexander Povetkin will be quick enough to frustrate Klitschko and come away with the majority decision win.
Terence Crawford vs. Andrey Klimov
The lowest profile fight this Saturday night will feature two undefeated fighters and one who could be a future pound for pound star. That possible future star is Terence Crawford and he will be fighting tough Russian Andrey Klimov in 10 round fight in the lightweight division. If the other fights on HBO's triple-header will be brawls this one should showcase the sweet science at its finest.
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| Crawford made his name by beating Prescott |
Terence Crawford made a name for himself in March when he agreed to fight Breidis Prescott on short notice and utterly dominated him. That fight led HBO's Max Kellerman to predict that Crawford would be the future of the lightweight division and also compared him to all-time defensive great Pernell Whitaker. Then in his last fight Crawford showed the world he could also slug, winning by the way of 6th round TKO, although he did take more punches then he is accustomed to. Crawford has a perfect career record of 21-0 with a strong 16 knockouts and reminds many fans of a young Floyd Mayweather. The future will be very bright for him as long as he keeps winning. Like Mayweather, Crawford has the ability to adapt during fights and thus far has always done what it takes to win. While Prescott has been by far his toughest opponent Klimov should also give him a run for his money as he also hopes to stay perfect.
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| Can the unknown Klimov pull off the upset? |
Much like Crawford did Klimov made a name for himself in the U.S. by beating a fighter he wasn't supposed to, John Molina. Klimov doesn't possess the defensive skills of Crawford but his hands might be just as fast. Klimov loves to throw punches in bunches but unfortunately he takes a lot of punishment to do so. However Klimov is a tough Russian fighter who loves to trade at close range and bully his opponents. If Klimov were to show a new wrinkle in his game and instead of constantly coming forward decided to use lateral movement it could frustrate Crawford who certainly wouldn't be planing for it. Klimov hasn't had a tremendous amount of professional fights but his record thus far is perfect standing at 16-0 with 8 knockouts. A win on HBO against a highly skilled fighter such as Crawford would do a lot to further his career.
What makes this fight so exciting is the fact that both fighters made their names by scoring big upsets and both have good boxing skills. While it is obvious that Crawford is the better defensive fighter it seems to be Klimov who is tougher and more of a bully. However Klimov will need to be careful if he thinks Crawford will just look to stick and move all night, Crawford can sit down on his punches and has the hand speed to do damage. If this fight turns into a phone booth style fight it would certainly favor Klimov but if it becomes more of a chess match it should be easy work for Crawford.
PREDICTION: Andrey Klimov will give a good showing of himself but Terence Crawford should prove to be to fast and to slick. I expect Crawford to win this fight via unanimous decision.
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