Friday Night Fights Quick Picks

Thomas Williams Jr. vs. Cornelius White: This weeks edition of ESPN's Friday Night Fights should be a good one.  In the main event Thomas Williams Jr. (15-0, 10 KO) a young undefeated prospect takes on Cornelius White (21-2, 16 KO) a battle tested veteran.  The two men will square off for 10 rounds in the crowded light heavyweight division.  Williams Jr. really made a name for himself in his last fight, his first 10 round bout, which came against veteran Yusaf Mack.  Williams Jr. completely dominated Mack en route to a unanimous decision win.  Williams Jr. isn't the fastest fighter in the sport or even in his own weight class for that matter but he does have good power.  He isn't the most active fighter, instead he picks his spots when he can unleash his heavy hands.  One negative to Williams Jr.'s game besides his lack of hand speed is the fact that he doesn't do a lot of running and is always there to be hit.  That lackluster defense could prevent Williams Jr. from ever winning a legitimate light heavyweight title but it could also make him very fun to watch and could land him on television a lot.  While Williams Jr. is still fighting to prove himself, White is fighting just to stay relevent.  White only has two losses on his resume but they were both brutal.  In 2011 against Don George, White was dropped three times in the 1st round on his way to a 1st round TKO loss.  Then in 2013 against Sergey Kovalev, White also tasted the canvas three times, that fight ending in a 3rd round TKO.  While Williams Jr. doesn't have the impressive knockout rates that George or Kovalev does he still has enough power to really bother White.  White is the veteran in the ring and has faced tougher tests than Williams Jr. and is probably a better boxer but he hasn't been in the ring since Kovalev destroyed him.  Ring rust probably won't be a huge problem for White but he may be a little gun shy after taking such a beating.  I expect Williams Jr. to start off very quickly in an effort to make White uneasy and it will work.  Williams Jr. will win this fight by the way of 9th round stoppage.

Rico Ramos vs. Jonathan Arrellano: The other televised bout on Friday Night Fights pits Rico Ramos (22-3, 12 KO) against Jonathan Arrellano (14-2-2, 3 KO) who will be going 10 rounds for the first time in his career.  Ramos is a name most big time boxing fans should have heard.  He has been in the ring with solid fighters such as Efrain Esquivias and Ronny Rios but his highest profile fight came against Guillermo Rigondeaux in 2012, a fight he lost.  Ramos has been in many 10 and 12 round fights with quality fighters which should give him a big advantage over the less experienced Arrellano.  Ramos is an offense first fighter with very fast hands, something he will need to utilize against Arrellano who is very good defensively.  Arrellano has no power to speak of and isn't a very busy fighter but he has a very good chin and a responsible defense that keeps him in fights.  However because he has no power he really needs to build a big lead on the judges scorecards to win fights.  Against a fighter like Ramos, Arrellano may not be able to put enough rounds in the bank to win the fight.  One thing is certain, neither fighter has look good as of late.  In Ramos' last five fights he has a record of 2-3 while Arrellano hasn't faired much better compiling a record of 2-2-1.  Both fighters would love to get back in the mix in an absolutely loaded featherweight division but it is Ramos who has the higher ceiling and so it is Ramos who I expect to win this fight.  Arrellano may give him some trouble with his good defense but Ramos will be able to figure him out and win this fight via split decision.