Adonis Stevenson vs. Andrzej Fonfara
Ladies and gentlemen, lets get ready to... oh wait, that is what fans would have heard if Adonis Stevenson had stayed with HBO. Instead the lineal light heavyweight champion of the world signed on with influential adviser Al Haymon who orchestrated Stevenson's exodus from HBO to Showtime. The plan was for Stevenson to fight Andrzej Fonfara and if he won to take on fellow light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev. Now with Stevenson jumping ship to Showtime it appears that fight will never happen and it also looks like Stevenson is intentionally ducking Kovalev. Stevenson insists he left to pursue a big money fight with the legendary and ageless Bernard Hopkins but first he will need
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| Stevenson is a knockout machine |
Stevenson has been known as a devastating power puncher ever since his 1st round knockout of then lineal heavyweight champion Chad Dawson. However in recent bouts Stevenson has also shown himself as a good boxer who can win rounds with his strong jab. Stevenson is a southpaw who has a relaxed stance in the ring with his left hand high guarding his chin and his right hand at his hip ready to shoot the jab. He typically throws a ton of jabs but also has a punch that looks like a jab/hook hybrid, starting off like a jab but turning it over at the last second to land with power. Without a doubt though Stevenson's best punch is his deadly left hand which seems to hurt or drop opponents every time he catches them with it. Aside from his excellent offensive skills Stevenson can also hold his own on the defensive end.
The scary thing about Stevenson is that his past three opponents have been the toughest challenges of his career and he has looked better then ever in those bouts. His last three fights haven't even gone past the 8th round, he knocked out Dawson in the 1st, forced Tavoris Cloud to retire in the 7th, and stopped Tony Bellew in the 6th. Stevenson holds a career record of 23-1 with a ridiculous 20 knockouts and he avenged his only loss which came against Darnell Boone in 2010. While Fonfara may be a slight step down from Stevenson's past few opponents he needs to be very careful not to look past him and onto Hopkins or he may never get there.
Like Stevenson, Fonfara also has a very strong jab. He is an orthodox fighter who works the jab often and brings a good strong right hand behind it. Fonfara also throws a nice uppercut with that right hand that may be able to surprise Stevenson. One thing Fonfara does well is jab to the body as well as the head and when his opponent starts to get hypnotized by the left hand that is when he brings in his powerful right. However Stevenson needs to be careful not to forget about the short left hook of Fonfara, especially since he always fights with his right hand so low. Fonfara has never been knocked out and hasn't lost since 2008 but he doesn't move very well in the ring and tends to stand straight up. Against the knockout machine Stevenson, Fonfara will need to be better than ever on defense.
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| Fonfara's left hook allowed him to KO Campillo |
Fonfara doesn't have the most impressive resume out there but he does have a few impressive wins over the likes of Glen Johnson and Gabriel Campillo who he came back to knockout after being down on the cards. As it stands now Fonfara's career record is 25-2 with 15 knockouts and Stevenson will be the biggest fight of his career. If Fonfara were to beat Stevenson it wouldn't only be a shocking upset but also take him to new heights in his career.
This fight may come down to the defense of Fonfara. He usually doesn't move well in the ring and Stevenson could really take advantage of that. But if Fonfara sticks the jab and moves laterally he could frustrate Stevenson early on. Stevenson is the better fighter of the two and is not only much more powerful but also the better boxer. Fonfara doesn't have a great chance in this fight but his short left hook has surprised fighters in the past and he could shock Stevenson with it if he can time Stevenson's jab.
PREDICTION: This is a David vs. Goliath fight. Andrzej Fonfara is playing the role of David but this time around it will be Adonis Stevenson who has the Goliath role who will win this fight. Fonfara is a solid fighter but he gets touched up to much and against Stevenson that could be deadly. Stevenson is going to look strong in this fight and win by the way of 9th round stoppage.
David Lemieux vs. Fernando Guerrero
As if the main event didn't promise to be explosive enough the co-feature has that covered. That fight will feature David Lemiuex who is one of the biggest knockout punchers in the sport. He will be challenged by Fernando Guerrero who is an action fighter by trade in a 10 round middleweight bout. As soon as the starting bell rings this fight could end at any second but if it goes long enough and if the action goes both ways it has a chance to be a fight of the year candidate.
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| Lemieux has put most of his opponents to sleep |
Simply put, Lemieux is a power puncher. He isn't interested in throwing a ton of jabs or dancing around the ring he is interested in turning his opponents lights out. He is an orthodox fighter with one of the prettiest left hooks in the business, a punch he throws short and crisp on the inside. On the outside that punch comes in a little wider from Lemieux and he puts even more behind it. When Lemieux does bring the fight into the pocket he digs really well to the body, especially with his right hand and if he catches his opponent with it upstairs the fight could end. His biggest flaw is clearly his defense. He comes in straight ahead and doesn't move his head much. Lemieux's defense is similar to that of Micky Ward meaning he just puts the earmuffs on and takes it. Because Lemieux doesn't move his head a lot he takes a fair share of punishment, especially from uppercuts which is leaves himself wide open for.
Lemieux is definitely must see TV due to his incredible knockout power but it isn't clear if he can be more than a B-level fighter. His two biggest fights thus far came when he stepped up against Marco Antonio Rubio and Joachim Alcine and those fights account for his two losses. Besides those two step up fights Lemieux has been unbeatable with an overall record of 31-2 with an almost not even fair 29 knockouts. Lemieux is still only 25 years old so he still has room to grow but a win this Saturday should speed things along a little more quickly for him.
Standing in his way is Guerrero, a 27 year old Dominican southpaw. Guerrero has pretty quick hands but the problem is that he doesn't throw his punches with much accuracy. He is an athletic fighter but he may rely on his athletic reflexes too much because he keeps his hands somewhat low and leaves his weak chin exposed, something Peter Quillin took advantage of in 2013. That chin has been a big letdown for Guerrero and both of his two career losses have come by knockout. He has also been on the canvas many other times and even got up off the deck in his last bout to win. On offense Guerrero stays very busy, moving and throwing punches even if he doesn't land at the highest connect rate. Typically he comes forward behind a quick jab and brings the power behind that. But this fight is more about defense for Guerrero.
For all of his defensive flaws Guerrero has amassed a nice record as a pro. Guerrero has wins over Ishe Smith and Raymond Gatica and has a career record of 26-2 with 19 knockouts. Unfortunately for Guerrero when he loses it usually comes from a brutal knockout after he has been dropped many times, like when Quillin dropped him four times. This will be a high profile fight for Guerrero but also a very dangerous one considering Lemieux is such a devastating puncher.
If, and that is a huge if, Guerrero can stand up to the power of Lemieux this could be a fight of the year candidate. It is very similar to the recent fight between Lucas Matthysse and John Molina. The question was whether or not Molina could stand up to Matthysse's power and he did long enough to make it a very memorable bout. Guerrero needs to work the jab early and often to keep a safe distance from Lemieux's power and stay focused defensively. Guerrero can't just run though, Lemieux is also deficient on defense and he needs to take advantage of that with crisp uppercuts. For his part Lemieux just needs to keep applying constant pressure and methodically break Guerrero down. However long this fight lasts it should be a lot of fun.
PREDICTION: If Fernando Guerrero had a better chin this would probably be a much better fight. But the power of David Lemieux is real and Guerrero won't be able to hold up for very long once he starts feeling it. Guerrero will most likely play it safe early but eventually Lemieux will start to find his target and the fight won't last much longer after that. Lemieux is going to get himself another knockout, this one in the 7th round.
Lemieux is definitely must see TV due to his incredible knockout power but it isn't clear if he can be more than a B-level fighter. His two biggest fights thus far came when he stepped up against Marco Antonio Rubio and Joachim Alcine and those fights account for his two losses. Besides those two step up fights Lemieux has been unbeatable with an overall record of 31-2 with an almost not even fair 29 knockouts. Lemieux is still only 25 years old so he still has room to grow but a win this Saturday should speed things along a little more quickly for him.
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| Guerrero got dropped numerous times by Quillin |
For all of his defensive flaws Guerrero has amassed a nice record as a pro. Guerrero has wins over Ishe Smith and Raymond Gatica and has a career record of 26-2 with 19 knockouts. Unfortunately for Guerrero when he loses it usually comes from a brutal knockout after he has been dropped many times, like when Quillin dropped him four times. This will be a high profile fight for Guerrero but also a very dangerous one considering Lemieux is such a devastating puncher.
If, and that is a huge if, Guerrero can stand up to the power of Lemieux this could be a fight of the year candidate. It is very similar to the recent fight between Lucas Matthysse and John Molina. The question was whether or not Molina could stand up to Matthysse's power and he did long enough to make it a very memorable bout. Guerrero needs to work the jab early and often to keep a safe distance from Lemieux's power and stay focused defensively. Guerrero can't just run though, Lemieux is also deficient on defense and he needs to take advantage of that with crisp uppercuts. For his part Lemieux just needs to keep applying constant pressure and methodically break Guerrero down. However long this fight lasts it should be a lot of fun.
PREDICTION: If Fernando Guerrero had a better chin this would probably be a much better fight. But the power of David Lemieux is real and Guerrero won't be able to hold up for very long once he starts feeling it. Guerrero will most likely play it safe early but eventually Lemieux will start to find his target and the fight won't last much longer after that. Lemieux is going to get himself another knockout, this one in the 7th round.
Jermell Charlo vs. Charlie Ota
Boxing fans are growing fonder of Showtime by the day. That is because in recent years the network has been putting together a lot of tripleheaders and also stacked PPV cards. That will be no different this Saturday and the fight to kick off the night will be between Jermell Charlo and Charlie Ota. The two fighters will battle it out in the junior middleweight division for 12 rounds in what might just be a stay busy fight for Charlo.
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| Charlo simply outboxes most other fighters |
Charlo is one half of the Charlo twins and both he and his brother Jermall are undefeated. While Jermall has more power it is Jermell who is the better prospect and slicker boxer. Charlo has very fast hands and his feet are just as quick. That footwork is what enables Charlo to avoid so many punches that he can win rounds without throwing many punches. That isn't how Charlo fights though, he does throw a lot of punches. He typically works behind a quick jab and has an equally fast left hook. One of Charlo's most effective punches is his straight right hand which he counters with a lot. Charlo usually fights from the outside but can also stand in the pocket and slip punches with his great reflexes and head movement.
At only 24 years old Charlo looks like he has the chance to be a future star. He has been brought along at a nice pace and wasn't thrown in with the lions too soon. Instead his team gradually stepped up his level of competition as he continued to win. Charlo's toughest test came in his last bout against Gabriel Rosado and he looked very sharp, bloodying Rosado on his way to a wide unanimous decision win. As a pro Charlo has been perfect and amassed a record of 23-0 with 11 knockouts. Big things are in Charlo's future but first he will need to get past the 32 year old Ota.
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| Is Ota as good as his record indicates? |
Ota is actually a pretty nice looking fighter he just doesn't seem to be in the same class as Charlo. Ota is a sharp puncher and fights very well on the inside where he likes to throw strong uppercuts. The orthodox Ota also has a nice left hook that he digs to the body nicely. Still it remains to be seen how good Ota actually is considering nearly all of his fights have been in Japan against lackluster competition. One thing is for sure, his defense doesn't look as sharp as his offense. Defensively Ota tends to go into a shell when he takes a good punch and usually just puts up a high guard and tries to ride it out.
For fighters like Ota records can be deceiving. His career record stands at 24-1-1 with 16 knockouts and he hasn't lost a fight since 2007. However in Japan Ota isn't consistently fighting a high level of competition and his record may be more smoke and mirrors than reality.
Ota does have some offensive skills so Charlo needs to be careful not to take him lightly. However if Ota's record proves to be fools gold Charlo could be in for a very easy night. Charlo doesn't really have the kind of power that will send Ota running but he also won't be successful just putting on the earmuffs and waiting Charlo out. That is because Charlo throws a ton of combinations and could end up overwhelming Ota for most of this fight. This may not be the bets fight on the card but Charlo is definitely a fighter to watch out for.
PREDICTION: There may be a reason Charlie Ota doesn't fight in the U.S. very much and Jermell Charlo will show fans why. Charlos is one of the most skilled younger fighters in the sport and should be able to handle Ota very easily on his way to a unanimous decision win.
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