Friday Night Fights Quick Picks

Vanes suffered his 1st career loss against Andrade

Vanes Martirosyan vs. Mario Alberto Lozano: This Friday ESPN2 will revert back to their usual Friday Night Fights format instead of airing a tournament.  The main event will be headlined by the enigmatic Vanes Martirosyan (33-1-1, 21 KO).  He will be facing off against Mario Alberto Lopez (28-4, 22 KO) in a 10 round junior middleweight fight.  Martirosyan was a member of the 2004 U.S. Olympic boxing team and has had a solid professional career but one that has seen it's struggles.  In the two biggest fights of his career he failed to really impress scoring a draw against Erislandy Lara that had to be stopped due to an accidental headbutt and a loss his last time out to hot prospect Demetrius Andrade.  Martirosyan isn't very slick but he is tough as nails.  He is at his best when he can make a fight ugly, take a few punches, and land even more.  He doesn't typically throw one punch at a time instead he uses his jab to set up his impressive right hand.  Martirosyan doesn't possess one punch power and instead tries to breakdown his opponent over the course of a fight.  He isn't always the most excited fighter to watch but his take two to land one style needs to be appreciated.  Lozano isn't a very busy fighter.  He tends to get backed up without throwing much until he feels he is in danger and will punch with some conviction.  His two best opponents have probably been Ramon Alvarez and Karim Mayfield and he is 1-1 in those fights.  He would have a better record if he had a higher punch output but his style often times sees him give away rounds.  Lozano doesn't use a lot of lateral movement so he should be there for Martirosyan to do battle with.  Martirosyan will certainly be the aggressor in this fight but he needs to be careful not to get overconfident against the power punching Lozano.  Stylistically this should be a good fight with enough action to keep fans happy, something that Martirosyan desperately needs.  While Lozano may be the bigger puncher it is Martirosyan who is the slicker fighter and he will outbox Lozano on his way to a unanimous decision victory.  

Peterson's lone loss came against Brandon Rios

Anthony Peterson vs. Marcos Jimenez: The co-feature on Friday night will be headlined by Anthony Peterson (32-1, 21 KO) the younger brother of Lamont Peterson and a fighter who at 29 years old is in need of a high profile win.  He will be challenged by Marcos Jimenez (20-4, 13 KO) in a 10 round lightweight fight.  Peterson doesn't have a great jab to work behind but he puts his punches together very well and likes to throw heavy leather on the inside.  The way he fights sees him take a lot of punches but he has a very good chin and stands up to most of them.  His biggest fight as a pro was also his worst moment.  He faced Brandon Rios in 2010 and was disqualified in the 7th round for repeated low blows which gave Peterson his first loss.  While Jimenez may not be the high profile opponent that Peterson was hoping for, fighting on ESPN2 should be good for his career.  Jimenez isn't a top level fighter and he can sometimes fall into a pattern of throwing his jab and then a right hook to the stomach and if he doesn't vary his attack he will pay for it.  Jimenez has been knocked out in three of his four losses and if Peterson is able to get inside on him he may make it a short night.  Jimenez will need to keep this fight on the outside especially since he tends to stand straight up which could be deadly on the inside against Peterson.  Jimenez needs to put some early rounds in the bank by controlling the distance with his jab because once Peterson figures him out and gets on the inside he could be in for some punishment.  While Peterson isn't the biggest puncher in the sport he does have good power and should be able to stop Jimenez in the 8th round.