Fox Sports 1 Quick Pick

Fidel Maldonado Jr. vs. John Nater: This Monday, Fox Sports 1 will save boxing fans who usually have to wait until the end of the week to watch the sport they love.  They will be putting on a solid card headlined by former top prospect Fidel Maldonado Jr. (17-2, 14 KO) who looks to continue his winning ways against John Nater (13-4, 10 KO) in a 10 round bout set in the junior welterweight division.  It was long ago that southpaw Maldonado Jr. was looked at as a top prospect.  He started his career 13-0 with 11 knockouts until he moved up to 10 round fights and lost his first two.  Since those two losses Maldonado Jr. has gone 4-0 with 3 knockouts and while his fights can be sloppy they are usually fun to watch.  Maldonado Jr. likes to fight from the outside where he can land his powerful left hand and usually doesn't have much success on the inside, except for when he can slip his uppercut through his opponents guard.  But just because Maldonado Jr. prefers to keep fights on the outside and in the center of the ring doesn't mean he will have his dancing shoes on.  He is always applying pressure and when he controls the pace of the fight he is able to land his fast, accurate combinations that allow him to win fights.  His opponent Nater will be doing his best to close that gap and not let Maldonado Jr. dictate the pace of the fight.  Nater is a solid fighter but often times he isn't busy enough and just waits to land one big punch.  He also takes a lot of punches because his defense leaves much to be desired and his chin isn't great.  What should make this fight so exciting is the fact that both fighters have above average power and both have questionable chins that have seen them get knocked out in the past.  Both fighters are under 24 years old and would like to get in the mix with the top fighters in the loaded junior welterweight division but it is really only Maldonado Jr. who still has a bright future.  Nater already has too many losses and should just be a tough test for other young fighters at this point.  While across the ring if Maldonado Jr. keeps winning and scoring knockouts he could be a factor in the division.  I expect this to be an exciting fight for fans although not the most skilled one.  Maldonado Jr. will win the fight via 6th round knockout and move on to bigger things.