HBO Fight Preview

Brandon Rios vs. Diego Chaves

When all action slugger Brandon Rios steps into the ring the boxing world takes notice.  Not because Rios is the most skilled pugilist or even the best fighter in his division but because he always brings the entertainment.  Rios who is coming off a loss to Manny Pacquiao will have his hands full against the power punching Diego Chaves.  The two fighters are set to square off for 10 rounds in the welterweight division and their respective styles should provide fans with a great show.

Rios was just to slow to handle Pacquiao

The great thing about a Rios fight is that you don't even really need to put him in a ring, he would be just as happy to fight in an actual phone booth.  Rios doesn't have much of a jab and doesn't like to fight from the outside.  What he does like to do is plow forward and apply constant and unrelenting pressure.  From the inside the orthodox Rios throws a very heavy left hook, a punch he will dig to the body with great success.  He may also throw more uppercuts than any other fighter in the sport and he throws them very well.  Another weapon Rios has shown is a strong right hand that can do damage.  On the defensive side of things Rios is not great.  He will stand right in front of his opponent and just put the earmuffs on and absorb punishment but he seems to love every minute of it.  If you hit Rios square on the chin with a brick he would probably just smile at you and continue to come forward.  He is able to do that because of his rock solid chin, Rios has only been down twice in his career both coming in the 1st round of his 2006 fight with Joel Ortega but both knockdowns came from body punches.  That chin will have to hold up on Saturday against a very heavy hitter in Chaves.

The big advantage Rios has going into Saturday's fight is experience.  Coming up Rios wasn't always protected and had some early fights against quality opponents.  He really started to step his game up in 2010 and has been fighting high level fighters since that time.  Rios has faced off against the likes of Anthony Peterson, John Murray, Mike Alvarado, and Manny Pacquiao while his opponent Chaves hasn't faced anywhere near the same level of competition.  Rios has had a successful career thus far going 31-2-1 with 23 knockouts but he is coming off back to back losses to Alvarado and Pacquiao and really needs a win to stay at the top level.  Which won't be easy to do against the hungry Chaves.

Chaves was stopped in his first real test

Chaves is also an orthodox fighter and does a better job than Rios of boxing from the outside because he has a good jab and straight right hand.  Chaves will also have the hand speed advantage in this fight and he often doubles up his left hook.  The left hook of Chaves is a good one as is his right hand but he will need to stay home on defense and be alert for the uppercuts of Rios.  Rios will be a tough test for Chaves who was knocked out against Keith Thurman and who has been down a few times during his career.  If there are question surrounding the defense of Chaves, Rios should answer them very quickly.

Another big thing to take note of is that Chaves hasn't fought very many top opponents.  His first true test came against Thurman and he was dropped twice in that fight and eventually stopped.  While Rios is the same type of puncher that Thurman is he is a fighter who never lets up with his pressure attack and he could make Chaves very uncomfortable.  As a pro Chaves has had a good career with a record of 23-1 with a strong 19 knockouts and a win against Rios would help his career keep moving forward.

This should be a very fan friendly fight with a lot of power punches being traded back and forth.  Chaves may try to control the action from the outside to start the fight but eventually Rios will be able to walk him down and force him to fight in a phone booth.  If both fighters are standing at the end of the 10th round it may be a very difficult fight to score so pay close attention to who is landing the cleaner, harder punches.  If this goes how most people expect it to it should be a night to remember.

PREDICTION: While Diego Chaves does have the hand speed advantage it will be the chin of Brandon Rios that makes the difference in this fight.  It will be an action fight and Rios will be able to withstand more punishment and wear Chaves down throughout the bout on his way to a 9th round stoppage. 

Sergey Kovalev vs. Blake Caparello

One of the other fights on Saturday's HBO tripleheader should also provide fans with plenty of excitement.  That is because one of the heaviest punchers in the sport, Sergey Kovalev will be back in action and looking to score another knockout.  This time he will be trying to do so against a good boxer in Blake Caparello.  The two fighters are set to go 12 rounds in the light heavyweight division for Kovalev's WBO title.  

Kovalev has put most of his opponents to sleep

In 2013 Kovalev became a household name, at least in the households of passionate boxing fans.  He went 4-0 that year with every fight ending in a knockout.  This year Kovalev already has a knockout and will look for another one against Caparello.  Kovalev is an orthodox puncher who likes to fight aggressively behind a strong jab and straight right hand.  He also cuts off the ring nicely which is important for a power puncher to do.  Another thing Kovalev does well is go to the body with regularity which helps slow down opponents so he can land upstairs and end fights.  The scarey thing about Kovalev is that he carries so much power in both hands.  He can end fights with his left hook or right hand and can drop an opponent even if he doesn't land clean.  Kovalev will need to use a sustained attack against Caparello who is a good, long boxer.

Kovalev was hoping this fight would be against fellow light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson but that fight never came to fruition.  Instead Kovalev will be in against Caparello and will need to stay focused and take his opponent lightly or look ahead to a possible big money fight with the legendary Bernard Hopkins.  Kovalev already has some impressive wins against Gabriel Campillo, and Nathan Cleverly under his belt and will look to add another on Saturday night in Atlantic City.  As a pro Kovalev has never lost and has a record of 24-0-1 with a ridiculous 22 knockouts.  That lone draw came against Grover Young in 2011 when an accidental foul rendered Young unable to continue.  If Kovalev beats Caparello big things are in his future.

Caparello is a nice slick boxer

While Caparello may not be as well known as Kovalev that doesn't mean he isn't dangerous.  Caparello is a southpaw who likes to keep his right hand very low and jab from his hip.  That jab may be his best weapon as he has very long arms and can control the pace of fights from the outside.  That will be a good weapon against Kovalev if Caparello can use to effectively and keep the power puncher at bay.  Caparello also has a nice straight left hand and he moves around the ring well.  One thing he will need to be wary of however is the left hook of Kovalev since he does like to keep his right hand so low.  Caparello is a very accurate puncher and will need to be busy and keep moving if he wants to win.

Without a doubt this will be the hardest fight of Caparello's career.  He has never faced anyone with the power of Kovalev and his biggest fight previous to this came aginst Elvir Muriqi who was a few years removed from his prime.  Still whoever is put in front of Caparello he beats and usually looks good doing so.  A typical Caparello fight is one where he controls the distance and pace and outboxes his opponent to a wide margin in the scorecards.  That style has led Caparello to an unbeaten record of 19-0-1 with 6 knockouts.  If Caparello can outbox Kovalev it would earn him a big fight and a ton of respect from the boxing world.

Usually when Kovalev fights the only question is how many rounds will it last.  That seems to be the case in this fight as well.  While Caparello is a good, slick fighter he does have some holes on defense and would need to be near perfect to pull off the upset.  Caparello may start off nicely and could frustrate Kovalev early though and if that frustration continues Caparello may be able to stick and move enough to win.  Chances are though that the power of Kovalev will be to much for Caparello and fans may soon see a fight between Kovalev and Hopkins.

PREDICTION: Blake Caparello is a good underrated boxer but he doesn't have the power to chin check Sergey Kovalev.  Caparello will find some early success and will put some early rounds in the bank but eventually Kovalev will start to land the power and he will win this fight by the way of 9th round knockout.

Jessie Vargas vs. Anton Novikov

While the other two fights on HBO's tripleheader feature hard hitters the third will showcase the sweet science.  That fight features two undefeated boxers in Jessie Vargas and Anton Novikov both of whom lack power but make up for it with a high skill level.  This will be a good showcase for both fighters as they set to do battle for 12 rounds in the junior welterweight division for the WBA title owned by Vargas.

Vargas has been able to outbox all of his foes

Vargas is a talented orthodox boxer with very quick hands and a good stiff jab.  That jab is his best weapon and going forward he will need to round out his offensive game.  Vargas also has a quick left hook and decent straight right hand but they need improving.  On defense Vargas has a good idea of what he is doing and actually fights pretty well on the inside for a fighter with such little power.  He is at his best though when he is sticking his jab from the outside so look for him to do that against Novikov.

As far as opponents go Vargas has faced some good ones in his past three bouts, doing battle with Wale Omotoso, Ray Narh, and Khabib Allakhverdiev and winning all three bouts by unanimous decision.  As a professional Vargas has been perfect going 24-0 but only has 9 knockouts on his resume.  His opponent on Saturday night Novikov also doesn't carry much power so look for this to be a skilled chess match as opposed to a slugfest.

A win would be huge for Novikov

Novikov is a southpaw who like Vargas has a good jab.  Novikov also carries with him a nice straight left hand but his hand speed is not great.  One thing Novikov does very well is cut off the ring which will be useful against Vargas who likes to stick and move.  While Novikov is an aggressive fighter and likes to walk opponents down he doesn't always let his hands go so punch output could be the difference in this fight.

Professionally Novikov hasn't faced the same level of talent that Vargas has and that could play a big role in this fight.  While Vargas has been in the ring with experienced fighters with talent Novikov has been doing battle with average fighters.  Still he has looked good against his opposition and his record stands at 29-0 with 10 knockouts.  This will be the highest profile fight of Novikov's career so look for him to come out hungry.

This fight will be a chess match that comes down to who is the busier fighter.  Neither pugilist has enough power to really hurt the other one so this fight will come down to who is landing more punches and who is better defensively.  While this won't be a fight that gets casual fans buzzing it should be a highly skilled bout that big time boxing fans will appreciate.

PREDICTION: This fight comes down to one main thing, hand speed.  Jessie Vargas has it and Anton Novikov does not.  That hand speed will allow Vargas to get the better of most of the exchanges on his way to a unanimous decision victory.