Andy Ruiz Jr. vs. Manuel Quezada: Most big time boxing fans will be tuning into HBO tonight to watch Juan Manuel Marquez take on Mike Alvarado but there will also be a fight card on UniMas featuring an undefeated heavyweight prospect. Andy Ruiz Jr. (21-0, 15 KO) who is only 24 years old is a top prospect with a lot of talent. He will be challened by the 36 year old veteran Manuel Quezada (29-8, 18 KO) in a 10 round heavyweight battle. While Ruiz Jr. is a top prospect he sure doesn't look like one, having a soft body and a lot of water in the basement. But don't judge a book by its cover because Ruiz Jr. can really box, something not often found in today's heavyweight division. Ruiz Jr. is an orthodox fighter with a good jab and faster hands than one might expect. The toolbox of Ruiz Jr. is filled with every tool he might need over the course of a fight. He has a good jab, strong left hook, and a devastating overhand right. Along with that Ruiz Jr. also will mix in a nice uppercut when the opportunity presents itself. One reason Ruiz Jr. has been so successful is his hand speed and ability to throw and land combinations. Defensively he will get touched up and needs to improve but he has shown a very solid chin and has never been down in his career. The same can't be said for his opponent Quezada who has been knocked out twice in his eight losses. Quezada is also coming off four losses in a row although those losses did come against solid opponents in Jason Gavern, Chris Arreola, Bowie Tupou, and Steve Cunningham. Quezada, like Ruiz Jr. is a sharp offensive fighter. He has a strong jab and a good straight right hand he likes to stick to the body. That body work could be very successful against Ruiz Jr. who is soft in the belly. Quezada also has a nice left hook and overhand right but he uses the jab and straight right much more often. On defense Quezada tends to keep his left hand very low which will be dangerous against the powerful right hand of Ruiz Jr. This could be an exciting fight, especially if Quezada decides to trade punches with Ruiz Jr. However Ruiz Jr. is the more skilled of the two and will end up winning this fight by the way of unanimous decision.
Novikov looks to stay unbeaten
Anton Novikov vs. Javier Castro: The other notable fight on tonight's UniMas card will feature an undefeated Russian boxer by the name of Anton Novikov (28-0, 10 KO). He will be fighting the power punching Mexican Javier Castro (27-6, 22 KO) in a 10 round fight in the junior welterweight division. Novikov is a fighter who likes to walk his opponents down and does a tremendous job of cutting off the ring. The Russian fighter is a southpaw who can control rounds with his strong jab and great ring generalship. He also has a nice left hand he usually follows up his jab with. While Novikov isn't a big puncher he usually lands everything clean and puts punches together well. On defense Novikov doesn't do anything spectacular but comes behind a high guard and is definitely solid and he will need to be against the power punching Castro. Castro's best punch is his right hand which seems to breakdown opponents even when he doesn't throw it particularly hard. One punch the orthodox fighting Castro doesn't use often is a jab and instead he will sometimes throw a straight right hand. He does however have a nice left hook which isnt as powerful as his right hand but it still very dangerous. It remains to be seen how much Castro has left though, especially since he has lost his last two bouts one of which was by knockout. While Novikov probably won't knock Castro out there is a very good chance he does outbox him. I expect the punches of Novikov to look very sharp against Castro and allow him to win this fight via unanimous decision.
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