Donatas Bondorovas vs. Willie Monroe Jr.: One fighter that fans of Friday Night Fights should be familiar with is Donatas Bondorovas (18-4-1, 6 KO). Bondorovas has fought on one of their cards before in 2013 when he was stopped by Brian Vera in the 7th round when he didn't answer the bell. Bondorovas who also sometimes goes by "Bondas" is usually there to be hit, which isn't a good thing for a fighter who has been stopped twice in his career. He has a come forward, plodding style that doesn't see him move laterally very often. His best punch is his right hand that usually follows a few weak jabs. His problem is that he fights like a power puncher with one punch knockout capability but in reality he doesn't have that kind of power. One thing that you can't call his opponent is "plodding." The southpaw Willie Monroe Jr. (15-1, 6 KO) is much more fluid with his movements and doesn't just stammer forward behind a weak jab. Monroe Jr. is a guy who likes to control fights with a stiff jab and a ton of lateral movement and he also has a sneaky good right hook. One criticism of Monroe Jr. is that he can sometimes pull straight back on defense which can get you knocked out. His only career loss came at the hands of Darnell Boone who is a fighter with more losses than wins but does have a knockout win over Adonis Stevenson. Monroe Jr. will definitely have the faster hands in this fight and could impress fans if he throws more combinations than he usually does. In a 6 round fight I think the defense and movement of Monroe Jr. coupled with a strong jab will pave the way to him winning this fight by the way of unanimous decision.
Cerresso Fort vs. Vitaliy Kopylenko: The old adage says that "styles make fights" and the two pugilists in this fight have very similar styles. Those fighters are the American Cerresso Fort (17-2-1, 11 KO) and the Ukrainian Vitaliy Kopylenko (22-0, 12 KO). But don't be fooled by Kopylenko's perfect record, he has never fought in the U.S. and all of his previous fights have been in the Ukraine or Switzerland, neither of which are hotbeds of talent. Fort hasn't exactly been facing tough tests either. His most notable fight came against Caleb Truax which was his last time in the ring and he got stopped in the 4th round of that fight. Both fighters are similar in their defense, they can both make guys miss but they have flaws as well. Kopylenko has a tendency to drop his left hand when he throws his right which leaves wide open while Fort throws a very wide right hand that also leaves him wide open to be countered. This won't be the best fight of the night and whoever wins probably won't go on to win the entire tournament but at least whoever does win will raise their profile in the sport. Neither one of these fighters has a ton of power so you probably won't see any knockdowns but if one does happen it should be Fort hitting the canvas since he has been down before. This is a 50/50 fight but I think the faster hands of Kopylenko will be the difference and he will win this fight by split decision.
Brandon Adams vs. Daniel Edouard: Another fight on the card will be interesting because of where the two fighters are in their respective careers. Brandon Adams (12-0, 8 KO) is a younger 24 year old looking to make a name for himself in what will be the biggest fight of his young career. Which is very different from Daniel Edouard (23-4-2, 14 KO) who is a veteran of the sport who has been fighting since 2002 and has some big time fights on his resume. Edouard fought Jermain Taylor back in 2005 when Taylor was at the top of his game and Edouard lost that fight after being stopped in the 3rd round. Edouard's other notable fight came the last time he stepped in the ring and it was against Peter Manfredo Jr., a fight he also lost. Adams is a young guy who has no real notable fights and is still learning the intricacies of the sport. He is very athletic and is built like an NFL running back and he has relied on that athleticism to win fights since his boxing skills are still not yet up to par. One thing that Adams possesses that is better than par is his power. He throws every punch with a lot behind it and always goes for the kill. Adams is far from a finished product tho he telegraphs when he is going to throw a jab and his defense leaves a lot to be desired but so far he has shown a good chin. What could make this fight good is that Adams will be coming in to score the knockout against a guy who has been stopped twice in his four losses. Edouard is 1-2 in his last three fights so he isn't near the level he once was but his ring experience and safer defense could take Adams to school. I just think that these fighters are at opposite ends of the spectrum, Adams is on the rise while Edouard is on his way out. Adams may get exposed in the future if he doesn't sure up his defense but I expect him to remain unbeaten and win this fight by the way of 4th round knockout.
Raymond Gatica vs. Sena Agbeko: If there is one fighter to watch during this tournament it is the very exciting Sena Agbeko (15-0, 15 KO). Agbeko will be challenged by Raymond Gatica (13-2, 8 KO) who will be a good test for the powerful Agbeko. Gatica is a slick fighter whose conditioning allows him to stay sharp throughout a fight. Don't be mistaken Gatica isn't just a slick defensive fighter he also has some pop behind his punches. Gatica is a southpaw who is always very relaxed in the ring and switches up from the head to the body pretty well. Agbeko is the big mystery in this fight he is from Ghana where all of his fights have taken place. Most fighters from Ghana are known to be very tough but not the most skilled. Fans will find out very quickly if Agbeko is the real deal, if he looks good against the slick Gatica he could be a future star. But there is a very good chance that Gatica will be to experienced and slick for the 21 year old Agbeko. Agbeko is a power puncher who has a very aggressive come forward style. It doesn't even need to be said that his power is unreal because you can see by his record he has won every single fight by knockout and most of them come very quickly. If Agbeko is able to figure Gatica out it could be a short fight but don't forget these fights are only going 6 rounds so Gatica may be able to land enough punches and move enough to win rounds and avoid the dangerous punches of Agbeko. One very interesting scenario is if both Agbeko and Adams they would face each other and fans would be in for an absolute slugfest. Usually I would pick the slicker, defensive fighter to beat the power puncher but something tells me Agbeko will bull rush Gatica early and drop him. I am picking Agbeko to win this fight by the way of 3rd round knockout.
You were wrong about Gatica. Thanks for the input, good try ;)
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