Showtime PPV Fight Preview (Undercard)

Leo Santa Cruz vs. Cristian Mijares

The co-feature of Saturday's Showtime PPV card will be headlined by two Mexican warriors who always bring the action.  The younger of those two fighters is Leo Santa Cruz whose high volume of punches are quickly making him a fan favorite.  Santa Cruz will be facing off against the grizzled veteran Cristian Mijares in a 12 round bout in the junior featherweight divisions for Santa Cruz's WBC title belt.  Anytime Santa Cruz is involved in a PPV card there is a good chance he will steal the show.

Santa Cruz is much busier than most fighters

At 25 years old Santa Cruz is poised to have a breakout 2014.  Not that he isn't already well known by big time boxing fans but 2014 could see him crack the top 10 pound for pound rankings and garner the attention of more casual fans.  Santa Cruz has an attacking style and comes forward behind a high guard.  His defense isn't stellar and he usually takes a punch or two on the way in but thus far has showed a strong chin.  Often times Santa Cruz throws a double jab to back his opponent up and then throws his strong right hand from awkward angles.  But the most notable trait Santa Cruz displays is his incredibly high volume of punches, he isn't a one punch knockout fighter but he will break opponents down with his constant punching.

Santa Cruz has never been beaten as a pro and holds a record of 26-0-1 with a solid 15 knockouts.  Earlier in his career he was protected and faced less than ideal competition, like most top boxers are but has stepped up in recent years.  He has been challenged by the likes of Eric Morel, Victor Terrazas, and Cesar Seda and has beat them all.  The only blemish, if you can call it that, on his record is a draw but that happened in the second fight of his pro career and has long been forgotten.  Santa Cruz has already mentioned some names of future opponents but he needs to be careful not to look past Cristian Mijares who has all the experience in the world and is always a tough out.

Mijares has always taken on the best

Mijares is a very patient fighter who doesn't mind being backed up which is good because Santa Cruz will certainly be doing that.  Mijares is a strong counter puncher who waits for his opportunities and than explodes.  He isn't a fighter with a strong jab and instead the southpaw uses it more as a measuring stick than a weapon.  One of his best weapons is his short left uppercut that he throws to the body with bad intentions.  Mijares should be a very good test for Santa Cruz because he won't have a problem with his attacking style.

Mijares has been fighting professionally since 1997 and has long been fighting the best his division has to offer.  He has fought Terrazas, Rafael Marquez, Vic Darchinyan, and Jorge Arce and has held his own in all of those fights.  His career record is 49-7-2 with 24 knockouts and he has been very active lately.  Mijares fought three times in 2012 and three more times in 2013 and is 5-1 in those fights so although he is getting older he has remained sharp which he will need to be if he hopes to beat Santa Cruz.

This should be an entertaining fights because the fighters styles match up pretty well.  Santa Cruz will be coming full steam ahead and will throw a ton of punches which should give Mijares plenty of opportunities to counter.  The question is whether or not Mijares has enough power to really check the chin of Santa Cruz and if Santa Cruz can tighten up his defense enough not to get countered all night.  The fighter with the faster hands is Santa Cruz and that should play a big role in this fight because Mijares usually waits for countering opportunities but it is hard to counter a faster fighter who never stops throwing punches.

PREDICTION: Cristian Mijares will be a great test for Leo Santa Cruz and should give fans a very fun fight.  However his patience won't pay off and Santa Cruz will be able to control most of the rounds on his way to a unanimous decision victory.

Jorge Linares vs. Nihito Arakawa

If there is any fight that has a real chance to steal the show from Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and Alfredo "El Perro" Angulo it is the bout between Jorge Linares and Nihito Arakawa.  Both fighters have been involved in recent bouts where they took an absolute beating but gained a ton of respect from fans for their heart.  These are the type of fighters who might just stand flat footed and throws bombs back and forth for all of their 10 round lightweight fight.

Linares was badly bloodied by DeMarco

Linares is a very fun fighter to watch.  He usually tries moving a lot and feinting in the early rounds but tends to slow down in the middle rounds and when things get tough he stands and tries to fight his way out of it.  He has pretty fast hands and throws his combinations very well but he isn't the most powerful fighter in the sport.  His knockouts usually come from an accumulation of punches rather than one single shot.  While Linares is very tough, his face doesn't always hold up so well and he tends to bleed a lot.  Which usually just makes his fights more interesting.

Linares has a record of 35-3 with 23 knockouts and all of his losses have come from stoppages.  He has been in many tough fights, most notably his bloody battle with Antonio DeMarco in 2011.  Linares has fought some quality fighters besides DeMarco he has also fought Sergio Thompson, Rocky Juarez, Juan Carlos Salgado and others.  While Arakawa won't be the most skilled fighter Linares has ever fought he may be one of the toughest.

Arakawa showed a ton of heart in a brutal fight

Arakawa is a southpaw who loves to throw his left hand, although it usually comes pretty wide and slow.  However when Arakawa is able to find a home for his left hand it does damage.  Arakawa likes to fight from the pocket and often makes space for his punches by bumping his opponent with his right shoulder to back them up.  One thing fans learned when Arakawa fought Omar Figueroa which earned In The Running status for Big Time Boxing's 2013 Fight of the Year, is that Arakawa is not a good defensive fighter but he can really take a punch.  Arakawa took a ton of punishment in that fight but never stopped engaging and never backed down.  Although he has never been knocked out he has had to get up off the canvas in past fights.

Arakawa gained a ton of fans in the U.S. after his gutsy performance against Figueroa.  It was his first fight in the U.S. and even though he lost no one seemed to care, they were just happy to have witnessed such an electric fight.  Arakawa has a record of 24-3-1 with 16 knockouts and has hopefully fully recovered from his fight with Figueroa seven months ago.  Arakawa has only fought outside of his native Japan twice, his fight in the U.S. and one in Mexico and those fights account for 2 of his 3 career losses.  The competition in Japan isn't elite so Arakawa is still somewhat of an unknown commodity but if he keeps churning out performances like he did against Figueroa, fans will continue to watch him fight.

This fight should start fast and never slow down.  It could easily be the fight of the night and may feature a lot of blood and a fighter having to pick himself up off the deck.  Linares will be moving around the ring early in the fight but after a few rounds who should start to sit down on his punches and trade power shots with Arakawa who will be more than happy to stand and trade.  The fight should take place in a phone booth and has a chance to be very memorable.

PREDICTION: Nihito Arakawa will once again show a ton of heart and give fans a good show but he won't leave the ring with a win.  I expect Linares to be the stronger fighter and win most of the exchanges en route to a 10th round stoppage win.  

Ricardo Alvarez vs. Sergio Thompson

The fight that will open the card was originally supposed to be much different.  Ricardo Alvarez, the brother of Saul "Canelo" Alvarez was scheduled to face off against Omar Figueroa but a hand injury sustained by Figueroa forced Alvarez to find a new opponent.  He was able to find a good one in the power punching Sergio "Yeyo" Thompson.  The two men will go head to head for 10 rounds in the lightweight division and could give fans a good show.

Alvarez is overshadowed by his famous brother

Alvarez is a talented fighter but he is nowhere near the level of his brother.  A big weakness for him is his lack of a consistent jab but he does have a monster left hook.  Alvarez isn't a great counter puncher like his brother and doesn't fight particularly well in the center of the ring.  Alvarez is at his best when he can muscle his opponent up against the ropes and land short, powerful punches.  While he isn't elite defensively he does have move his head subtly on the the inside and avoids many big punches.

Although Alvarez is older than his brother he has nowhere near the amount of fights his brother does.  Alvarez has a professional record of 23-2-3 with 14 knockouts but hasn't faced any elite level opposition.  He has made a bigger than for himself in recent years but he was in a lot of showcase fights so you can't take to much away from that.  One thing is for sure, Thompson will give him a good fight and definitely check his chin.

Thompson is a heavy hitter

Thompson is short and compact, however he punches are not.  He usually throws wide, looping punches but they have a lot of power behind them.  He also has a bad habit of reaching from to far away with his right hand but he makes up for that by having a great, short left hook to the body and if he lands that punch to the chin it's lights out.  Alvarez will definitely be the sharper puncher in this fight but Thompson will be the more powerful one by a long shot.

Thompson, like Alvarez doesn't have the best resume but he does have a win over Jorge Linares who is better than anyone Alvarez has fought.  His career record is 28-3 with an unreal 26 knockouts and the last time he wont a fight by decision was in 2011, fourteen fights ago.  This is a crossroads bout for both fighters, a win on a high profile PPV card would do a lot for their careers but a loss could be very detrimental.  

Many fans were understandably disappointed that they won't get to see Figueroa fight on Saturday night but Thompson is more than adequate as a late fill-in.  This fight is interesting because both fighters prefer to get their opponent on the ropes before they really go to work.  While Alvarez is usually successful doing that he has never done it against a fighter with the power of Thompson.  While Thompson is clearly the stronger fighter it is Alvarez who is sharper and more skilled.  It will be interesting to see if Alvarez tries to move more and keep the fight off the ropes or if he fights on the inside like he is accustomed to.

PREDICTION: Sergio Thompson isn't the more skilled fighter in this bout but his power will be the difference.  Ricardo Alvarez will do his best to move and fight in the center of the ring but eventually the left hook of Thompson will wear him down.  Thompson will win a good fight via 8th round stoppage.