Showtime PPV Fight Preview (Undercard)

Luis Collazo vs. Amir Khan

While most casual fans will just be tuning in Saturday night to watch Floyd Mayweather fight big time boxing fans will be glued to their televisions well before that.  This undercard may not compare to Mayweather's last one but is still has plenty of intrigue.  The undercard fight with the most at stake will be the one between Luis Collazo and Amir Khan.  The two fighters will square off for 12 rounds in the welterweight division and while there will be meaningless titles on the line that isn't why there is so much at stake.  The reason for that is because the winner of this fight could very well win the next lottery ticket to fight Mayweather in September.  Because of that both fighters should be willing to walk through hell to win.

Collazo is coming off an impressive knockout

Collazo is a ring veteran and because of his vast experience is a highly intelligent fighter.  He is a southpaw and fights with a similar defensive style to Mayweather.  Collazo keeps his hands fairly low and uses a shoulder roll to catch his opponents punches.  While Collazo is a defensive fighter that doesn't mean he spends his time running around the ring.  Typically Collazo is aggressive in walking his opponents down and comes from behind a very good jab.  Along with that jab he also has a good short left hand which he is able to fire off because of his fast hands.  Collazo also has a sneaky good right hook, the punch he dropped Victor Ortiz with and an even sneakier uppercut.  The hardest part about fighting Collazo is the fact that his elite defense allows him to fight equally well in the center of the ring or up against the ropes.  A win on a high profile PPV could make fans forget about Collazo's past as a B-level fighter.

The reason Collazo has sometimes been viewed as a B-level fighter is because in the past when he has stepped up he has lost.  Collazo has long fought the best his division has to offer and has been in the ring with Ortiz, Andre Berto, Shane Mosley, and Ricky Hatton.  As a pro Collazo holds a record of 35-5 with 18 knockouts and he is currently riding a four fight winning streak including his knockout over Ortiz which helped him get this fight against Khan.

Khan is an interesting fighter because he is so talented offensively but so flawed defensively.  By know even casual fans are aware of Khan's glass chin.  Out of his three losses two have been by knockout and he has been on the canvas more than that.  Khan is an orthodox fighter with some of the fastest hands in the sport.  Those fast hands allow Khan to throw combinations before his opponent knows what the hell is going on.  Khan's jab is solid and he has a good left hook, he also has a decent straight right hand that he doesn't use as often as he should.  Khan does have good power but his knockouts don't usually come from one punch but instead from a lightning fast combination.  But with Khan the talk is never about his offense which is very good, the talk is always about whether his chin will hold up and if he can avoid Collazo's right hook it probably will.

Khan got up off the deck to win in his last fight

Khan was once looked at as a future superstar but know is fighting just to stay in the conversation.  He is only 3-2 in his last five fights and was knocked down numerous times in those bouts.  A few years ago Khan was beating everyone put in front of him, including Paulie Malignaggi, Marcos Maidana, and Zab Judah but then he lost back to back fights against Lamont Peterson and Danny Garcia.  For his career Khan has a record of 28-3 with a good 19 knockouts and a win over Collazo would almost certainly guarantee him a fight with Mayweather in September, a fight he thought he would be competing in on Saturday night.

This is really a toss up fight that either pugilist could easily win.  Khan is the better offensive fighter but Collazo has shown improvement in that department in recent fights.  On defense it isn't even close, Collazo is much better than Khan and his chin is much more solid.  The question is whether or not Collazo will be able to use his shoulder roll to slip the punches of Khan which will be coming fast and often.  If Collazo can make Khan miss he should be able to sharp shoot his own punches and outpoint Khan.  Making Khan miss is not an easy thing to do though his hands are blazing and could very well end up overwhelming Collazo.  One thing is for sure, this will be a highly competitive, close fight.

PREDICTION: Amir Khan may be the one landing the heavier punches on Saturday night but Luis Collazo will be the better fighter.  Collazo should frustrate Khan with his superior defense and be able to land enough crisp punches in between Khan's combinations to win rounds.  This will be a close fight and the scorecards will reflect that as Collazo wins via split decision.

Adrien Broner vs. Carlos Molina

One of the other undercard fights features two fighters who should be familiar to Marcos Maidana and Amir Khan.  Those fighters are Adrien Broner, who lost to Maidana in his last bout and Carlos Molina who lost his last fight to Khan back in 2012.  They will go head to head in a scheduled 10 round fight in the junior welterweight division and both men have a lot to prove.  

Broner couldn't handle the pressure of Maidana

Before his loss to Maidana, Broner was thought of as a future superstar and perhaps even the next Floyd Mayweather.  Broner forget one key thing however, he forgot to put in the hard work that Mayweather is known for.  Besides being a boxer Broner also raps and before his last fight went on tour and came back to boxing very overweight.  Broner went from lightweight all the way up to welterweight and thought his power and speed would come with him but it didn't.  When Broner takes his craft seriously he is one of the best.  He has fast hands and a lot of power with that speed and also uses the shoulder roll to be a very good defensive fighter.  Even though he wasn't great against Maidana he was still able to land a good amount of counter punches, something he has always been good at.  There is a feeling though that Broner's career could be fools gold.

Broner made his name beating smaller opponents and is probably not as good as his record indicates.  That record was perfect before he ran into Maidana and now stands at 27-1 with a very strong 22 knockouts.  Broner does have nice wins over Vicente Escobedo, Antonio DeMarco, and Paulie Malignaggi but he was usually much bigger than those men, besides Malignaggi.  Broner nearly lost to Malignaggi because he wasn't very good defensively and took a lot of clean punches.  If Broner takes his career more seriously he could be great and once again be viewed as a future superstar.  But first he will have to dispatch Molina.

Molina's last fight ended with him on his stool

Molina should have his hands full with Broner if Broner has really rededicated himself to the sport.  On top of that Molina hasn't fought since 2012 when he didn't answer the bell and was stopped by Khan.  Molina is an all around solid fighter but doesn't do anything at an elite level.  He likes to rip his left hook but he isn't very accurate with it and his best punch is probably his straight right hand.  On the defensive end Molina does subtle things to avoid big punches but after his first career loss followed by a two year layoff he may have a lot of ring rust to brush off.

Until has last bout against Khan in 2012 Molina was an undefeated fighter.  His record is an impressive 17-1-1 but he only has 7 knockouts and the only top level opponent he has faced was Khan.  If Molina had stayed active the past few years he may have been able to give Broner a lot of problems and frustrate him but that seems less likely because of that layoff.

This fight really comes down to who is in better form.  Broner is coming off a big loss and this is a very important fight for his career.  If Broner put in the work he could blow Molina away.  However if Broner comes in overconfident and Molina doesn't have as much ring rust as expected he may be able to pull off the upset.  A loss to Molina would almost certainly derail Broner's career while a win for Molina would put his name back in the conversation for big fights.  If Molina isn't bothered by his long layoff he could give Broner some problems and the fans a competitive fight but if Broner enters the ring in shape and serious he could blow Molina away.

PREDICTION: This fight would have been more interesting of Carlos Molina hadn't taken 2 years off from the ring.  That ring rust will show early and Adrien Broner will take advantage.  Molina may find some success in the middle rounds but it won't last as Broner will win this fight by the way of 8th round stoppage.      

J'Leon Love vs. Marco Antonio Periban

The fight that will open Saturday's PPV card features a Floyd Mayweather promoted fighter who may be his most talented pupil, J'Leon Love.  Love is scheduled to go 10 rounds in the super middleweight division against Marco Antonio Periban.  Together the fighters only have one loss between them so it should be an evenly matched bout that could easily go either way.  The winner of this fight should be able to line up a higher profile bout and will certainly put himself in title contention.

Love has recorded two stoppages in a row

Love is only 26 years old but seems like a veteran fighter in the ring due to his calm demeanor.  Love never gets out of control on offense or defense and does a good job of controlling the pace of a fight.  Usually Love will fight with his hands low and has a defense that looks similar to a Philly shell but it's his own version.  He doesn't really use a shoulder roll and instead relies on quick reflexes and feet to slip punches.  Offensively Love can control the pace and distance of fights from the outside with his jab and movement but can also bang on the inside.  While he is still able to land good combinations on the inside that is also where he usually takes the majority of his punishment.  Love is still on his way up in the sport but if he adds a bit more power he could be a very dangerous fighter.

The resume of Love isn't overly impressive.  His toughest fight came against Gabriel Rosado and while he won a split decision in that bout many people felt that Rosado had actually won.  The point was rendered mute however when after the fight Love tested positive for a banned diuretic and the bout was ruled a no contest.  Still Love remains a perfect fighter with a record of 17-0 with a solid 10 knockouts.  He is being brought along slowly and Periban will definitely be a step up from his past two opponents.

Periban is a fighter looking to get back on track.  The Mexican pugilist started his career 20-0 but has stumbled in his two most recent fights.  Periban lost the first of those two fights to Sakio Bika and followed that up by fighting to a draw against Badou Jack.  His record now stands at 20-1-1 and he has a pretty good 13 knockouts.  Love also represents a step up in the level of competition for Periban which is why this fight should be so close.

Periban looks to get a W after two sub par fights

Like most Mexican fighters Periban is aggressive.  He fights behind a good stiff jab and doesn't mind eating a punch to land two.  The reason he can do that is because he has a good chin and has only been on the canvas once in his career and he got up to win that bout.  Periban doesn't have much of a left hook but his right hand is very good and an awkward uppercut he sometimes throws.  Periban will probably be the more active fighter in this bout and that could play a big role.

This could easily be the most evenly matched fight of the night.  Periban will probably be the busier fighter but Love will be better defensively.  The judges will have their hands full in this fight because there should be many close rounds.  If the judges prefer the volume puncher it will be Periban who comes out on top but if they prefer the more accurate puncher and better defense it will be Love who is victorious.

PREDICTION: Marco Antonio Periban may be the busier fighter but his wild punching will let him down.  J'Leon Love will be the sharper puncher which will allow him to win on the scorecards via majority decision.