Showtime Quick Picks

J'Leon Love vs. LaJuan Simon: The last time J'Leon Love (15-0, 8 KO) was in the ring he won a split decision against Gabriel Rosado that many people watching thought Rosado won.  Shortly after that ruling was changed to a no contest because Love tested positive for a banned diuretic.  So why is Love getting another high profile fight on Showtime so quickly?  Let's just say it pays to be in business with Floyd Mayweather.  Love will be taking on LaJuan Simon (23-4-2, 12 KO) in a 10 round bout in the super middleweight division.  Simon, who hasn't fought since a 2011 first round knockout loss at the hands of Gennady Golovkin should provide the perfect chance for Love to look impressive following his sloppy fight against Golovkin.  Simon isn't a big puncher and he doesn't move well around the ring instead choosing to stand in front of his opponents.  Love should be able to easily handle Simon with his superior hand speed and movement.  Love also isn't a big puncher but with Simon coming off a brutal knockout and having not fought in two years he may be easy to drop.  However I expect this fight to go the distance with Love moving effectively in and out and outworking Simon on his way to an easy unanimous decision win.

 Badou Jack vs. Rogelio Medina: Another Floyd Mayweather promoted fighter will be showcased on Showtime this Friday in a 10 round, super middleweight bout.  That fighter is Badou Jack (15-0-1, 10 KO) whose most recent trip to the ring ended in a draw against Marco Antonio Periban.  Jack is a solid fighter but can become lazy during fights and not throw enough punches.  Jack has good head movement and defense but he can't simply rely on that to win fights, his punch output needs to be higher than it has been in the past.  The fighter Jack will be taking on is Rogelio Medina (31-4, 25 KO) who doesn't have good defense and can never be accused of not throwing enough punches.  He is a pressure fighter who comes forward behind a tight guard and throws wide punches looking for knockouts.  The fighters in this bout are polar opposites, while Jack likes  to work off his back foot, Medina has never taken a step back in the ring.  Unfortunately for Medina he doesn't have elite hand speed and his punches and often looping so Jack superior head movement should make Medina look bad.  I predict Jack will win this fight albeit with some scarey moments by the way of unanimous decision.

 Mickey Bey vs. Carlos Cardenas: Let's just call this entire card a "Night of Redemption."  The other notable fighter on this card is Mickey Bey (18-1-1, 9 KO) who is also promoted by Floyd Mayweather.  Bey's last two fights have been controversial, the first because he tested positive for high levels of testosterone and the second because he was stopped by John Molina in the 10th and final round of a fight Bey was dominating.  Bey just couldn't seem to tie Molina up after he was hurt and he paid the price for it, losing his first fight as a professional.  Bey is a talented boxer with fast hands and is very slick in the ring but at 30 years old he is still raw and needs to get on the fast track if he wants to be a star.  Bey will look to get back on track in a 10 round fight in the lightweight divison against Carlos Cardenas (20-6-1, 13 KO) who is a solid fighter but one without one punch knockout power.  Cardenas has to be seen as a fighter Bey can outbox without being knocked out by like he was against Molina.  Cardenas will try to make this a phone booth fight so he can stymie the boxing skills of Bey, while Bey will look to stick and move in an effort to make Cardenas look slow.  Whichever fighter controls the pace of the fight will come out on top and I think that fighter will be Bey who will win the fight via unanimous decision.