Showtime Quick Picks

Lamont Peterson vs. Dierry Jean: When boxing fans look at the record of Lamont Peterson (31-2-1, 16 KO) it is easy to be impressed.  Peterson has some big wins on his resume most notably against Amir Khan.  Peterson has also fought Timothy Bradley, Victor Ortiz, and Lucas Matthysse however he is 0-2-1 against those fighters.  Now it remains to be seen if Peterson is a true title contender or just fools gold.  Peterson has a great jab and does everything well but nothing, besides his jab, great.  Questions also remain about his chin since he has been on the canvas many times and was stopped in the 3rd round by Matthysse in his last fight.  Now Peterson will take on Dierry Jean (25-0, 17 KO) in a 10 round bout in the junior welterweight division with the winner taking the IBF title.  Jean was born in Haiti but fights out of Canada where all of his of fights have taken place, except for his last bout which was in Oklahoma, not exactly a boxing hotspot.  Jean isn't as polished as Peterson and he often fights with his hands low, something Peterson and his excellent jab will be able to capitalize on.  Peterson desperately needs a win, he has had a suspension for PED's in the past and is coming off a loss.  If Peterson wants to remain relevant he needs to get past Jean and land bigger fights.  I expect Peterson to outclass Jean and use his jab to control the fight on his way to a unanimous decision win.

 Jermell Charlo vs. Gabriel Rosado: Even more intriguing than the main event will be the fight leading up to it.  It will be a 10 round bout in the junior middleweight division between slick boxer Jermell Charlo (22-0, 11 KO) and the tough as nails Gabriel Rosado (21-7, 13 KO).  Many casual fans might look at Rosado's 7 losses and dismiss him as a stepping stone fighter, but make no mistake about it Rosado can fight with the best of them.  Time after time Rosado has taken on any challenge that came his way including fighting Alfredo Angulo, Gennady Golovkin, and Peter Quillin.  Rosado has also had some tough breaks including losing to J'Leon Love, a fight that was later changed to a no contest after Love tested positive for a banned diuretic, and a fight that Rosado should have won on the scorecards.  Also his fight against Quillin was stopped after Rosado suffered a bad cut and the referee stepped in to end things even though Rosado was all but begging him not to.  While Rosado has been tested time after time, Charlos has yet to really face a legit threat.  That will change as soon as he enters the ring against Rosado.  Charlo who has a twin brother named Jermall doesn't have the power punching ability of his brother but is the farther along of the two.  Charlo has very fast hands and is a skilled boxer who is adept at avoiding punishment.  This fight comes down to who controls the style of the fight.  Rosado will try to make this a brawl and if it is his toughness should shine through and he will be able to break down Charlo.  However if Charlo can keep Rosado from making this fight a brawl his boxing skills should be able to carry him to a victory.  If this fight was between Rosado and Jermall Charlo I would be picking Rosado to win a brawl.  But unfortunately for Rosado that isn't the case.  I think Charlo will win the biggest fight of his career by the way of unanimous decision.