Chris Rudd vs. Petr Petrov: This fight could prove to be the best bout of the semifinals. Both Chris Rudd (13-1, 8 KO) and Petr Petrov (33-4-2, 15 KO) are coming off opening round upsets. Rudd who was relatively unknown before the tournament fought to a 6 round draw against favorite Yakubu Amidu so a 7th round was ordered and Rudd was able to control the round and win the fight. Petrov was facing off against Fedor Papazov who was undefeated and a very heavy puncher but Petrov made him look slow and picked him apart for a unanimous decision win. Now the two underdogs will square off against one another. Rudd showed himself to be a good fighter with a lanky body that provides him with a long reach and a high quality jab. His height and reach help him defensively but he still has some holes that Petrov should be able to find. Rudd likes to fight from the outside where he can control the pace of a fight but against Petrov he will need to have a higher punch output than he did against Amidu. Rudd is still a very young fighter with Amidu being his toughest test. However the argument can be made that Amidu, who is a slow starter, was the perfect fighter for the young Rudd to face off against in only a 6 round fight. Petrov has fought Marcos Maidana and has generally faced better opposition than Rudd has. Petrov is the better defensive fighter of the two and comes forward behind a high guard. He also throws crisper punches than Rudd and is extremely accurate with them. Petrov is a true veteran and can fight equally well on the outside or in close but against Rudd who likes to keep his distance look for Petrov to try and force the action at close range. Petrov puts his punches together very well against Papazov and looked like the best fighter in the tournament. Rudd is a solid fighter who does some things very well but Petrov is the busier fighter and is much more accurate with his punches. I expect Petrov to continue to look like the best fighter in the tournament and use his sniper like punching ability to outbox Rudd on his way to a unanimous decision victory.
Miguel Gonzalez vs. Fernando Carcamo: The other semifinal bout will be a battle out southpaws as Miguel Gonzalez (23-3, 16 KO) will face off against Fernando Carcamo (16-5, 13 KO). Carcamo was the only fighter in the first round of the Boxcino tournament to will by stoppage while Gonzalez won a controversial split decision against Miguel Mendoza. Mendoza isn't a skilled fighter but has very heavy hands and one punch knockout power. While Gonzalez was able to throw and land more punches against him it was Mendoza who was landing the much more powerful punches leading many people to think he won the fight. Gonzalez goes by the moniker "silky smooth" but you wouldn't know it by watching his last fight. Gonzalez clinched a lot in that bout and wasn't very sharp offensively. However Gonzalez is good on defense and moves his head very well to avoid big punches, something he will need to do against the heavy hitting Carcoma. Carcoma was overlooked in his first round matchup because at 23 years old he already has five losses and was going up against an undefeated fighter with some good power. Things will be different this time around and no one, especially Gonzalez will be overlooking him. Carcamo can definitely crack and while he has been knocked out once he does take a solid punch. Carcamo moves well in the ring and while he usually fights as a southpaw he can also switch it up and go orthodox for parts of rounds like he did at the beginning of the first round in his last fight against Samuel Neequaye. Carcamo is similar to Gonzalez's last opponent in that he is powerful but not exceptionally skilled. However Carcamo does have a higher skill level than Mendoza and Mendoza was able to frustrate Gonzalez and buzz him on occasion. I think that Carcamo will have similar success against Gonzalez and score a 7th round stoppage.
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