Friday Night Fights Quick Picks

Michael Farenas vs. Mark Davis: Big time boxing fans craving some action will get their fix this Wednesday on ESPN2.  That card will be headlined by junior lightweights Michael Farenas (38-4-4, 30 KO) and Mark Davis (18-0, 5 KO) in a 12 round IBF title eliminator.  While Farenas has more losses than the undefeated Davis he is also the favorite in this bout because of his experience and power.  Farenas is a southpaw fighter who is a very busy in the ring.  He likes to fight in and out and does a good job of getting in the pocket, landing combinations and moving back out of danger.  Getting out of danger is something Farenas needs to focus on because his defense isn't great and he usually just puts up a high guard.  His jab isn't great and he uses it more as a set up punch rather than a punch that will do damage.  One punch Farenas does use very well is his straight left hand which is very sharp he also has a right hook but it isn't as good as his left which carries much more power.  Farenas has much more experience than Davis does and has been in the ring with tougher opponents most notably Yuriorkis Gamboa.  This fight will be a big test for the unbeaten Davis as he looks to stay perfect.  Davis is a very sound defensive fighter whose head movement makes opponents moss often.  His defense is equally good from the pocket or the outside and he uses his feet and a shoulder roll to perfection.  Davis also has very fast hands and while his power is lacking he puts his punches together very well.  He has a nice jab and a lightning quick straight right hand and when he turns it over his left hook is also a good punch but he tends to slap with it.  Another thing Davis does well is put it body work which he will need to do against Farenas to slow his offense down.  This fight comes down to the offense of Farenas against the defense of Davis.  If Davis fights too defensively he may give to many rounds away but he should be able to connect with a lot of his punches due to the poor defense of Farenas.  I expect Davis to look sharp in this fight and be able to outbox Farenas on his way to a unanimous decision victory.

Billy Dib vs. Alberto Garza: The co-feature of Wednesday's card will be headlined by Billy Dib (36-3, 21 KO).  He will be fighting Alberto Garza (26-7-1, 21 KO) in a 10 round junior lightweight bout and one that Dib's promoter 50 Cent hopes is a look good fight for him.  Dib's career was going very well and he was beating quality opponents until he ran into "The Mexican Russian" Evgeny Gradovich.  Dib fought Gradovich twice in 2013 and lost both fights and is 1-2 in his last three bouts.  Dib is an orthodox fighter who likes to keep his left hand low and jab from his hip.  He has pretty fast hands and his left hook is solid upstairs or to the body but his right hand doesn't have much behind it.  On the defensive side of things Dib is solid but he can be worn down over the course of a fight and tends to slow down in the second half.  His opponent Garza does have good power and may be able to slow Dib down but he also has a bad chin and has been knocked out four times in his seven losses.  Garza isn't as busy of a puncher as Dib is and he typically lets his opponent get inside and tries to land power.  Garza is not a fighter who uses his jab to control distance and move around the ring.  His footwork isn't very good and he likes to pick his spots to throw his left hook and right hand.  Look for Garza to try to take this fight to the inside because his hands aren't the fastest and Dib can outbox him from the outside.  On defense Garza is simply not good, he takes a lot of punches and doesn't have a good chin.  While Dib doesn't have very heavy hands his high volume of punches should keep Garza on his back foot all night.  Garza also has a bad habit of backing straight up on defense which Dib should be able to capitalize on.  Dib needs to get back on track after a sub par 2013 and it seems that he has the perfect opponent in front of him to do just that.  I think Dib's movement and hand speed will be the difference in this fight and he will look good against Garza and win the fight via unanimous decision.