Rustam Nugaev vs. Denis Shafikov: Last week on Showtime was one of the worst boxing cards in recent memory. They aired a tripleheader in which every fight was a severe mismatch. Showtime could stand to take some notes from ESPN2 because their Friday Night Fights cards always seem to have competitive bouts. This week will be no exception when Rustam Nugaev (27-6-1, 17 KO) takes on Denis Shafikov (33-1-1, 18 KO) in a 12 round IBF lightweight title eliminator. Nugaev has been a mainstay on Friday Night Fights in recent years and a win could help him get a shot to fight on one of the major networks against titleholder Miguel Vasquez. The last loss for Nugaev came in 2011 and since then he has gone 6-0 with five of those fights ending before the final bell. Nugaev is a tough Russian who fights out of an orthodox stance and mixes up his punches well to the head and body. Typically he likes to do work on the inside and he can do so because he has a very good chin and has never been knocked out. The best punch for Nugaev is probably his left hook which he digs to the body in an attempt to break his opponents down. He also has an aggressive style and doesn't like to give an inch. If Nugaev gets his way and this fight takes place in a phone booth headbutts could play a role since his opponent Shafikov is a southpaw. While Nugaev likes to throw single heavy punches Shafikov likes to throw a lot of combinations. Shafikov will have the faster hands in this fight so look for him to stay on the outside and try to use his jab and combinations to control the fight. While that would be a smart strategy for Shafikov that may not be what he does because like Nugaev he is also an aggressive fighter. If Shafikov decides to stand and trade with Nugaev it probably won't end well for him. Nugaev is the heavier puncher and goes to the body very well which will enable him to slow Shafikov down and win this fight by the way of 10th round stoppage.
Pedraza looks to stay perfect as a pro
Jose Pedraza vs. Juan Carlos Martinez: Well maybe every fight on this weeks Friday Night Fights card isn't competitive. The co-feature on Friday will be a 10 round junior lightweight bout between the unbeaten Jose Pedraza (17-0, 11 KO) and Juan Carlos Martinez (20-14-1, 7 KO). This bout shouldn't be much more than a look good fight for Pedraza and at 25 years old he will hopefully take the next step up should he win. Pedraza is a nice smooth fighter who can fight as a southpaw or orthodox and is good at both. He usually fights more as a southpaw and has a very nice jab and a good left hand to the body. His right hook isn't a great punch and comes in awkwardly but when he fights out of the orthodox stance his straight right hand is a very good weapon. While Pedraza isn't the heaviest puncher he does have enough power to get his opponents respect, that along with his hand speed make him a dangerous fighter. However until Pedraza starts fighting a higher level of opposition big time boxing fans won't know how good he actually is. Friday probably won't bring any answers considering his opponent Martinez is 5-5 in his last ten bouts. It's surprising that Martinez has so many losses because he fights pretty well. He is an orthodox boxer with solid hand speed and a nice jab and straight right hand. One problem for Martinez is that he typically headhunts and doesn't have much power to speak of. One positive for him is that he has faced a higher level of opposition than Pedraza has. Martinez has been in the ring against fighters like Mikey Garcia, Juan Carlos Burgos, Victor Terrazas, and Antonio DeMarco all of whom are better than anyone that Pedraza has fought. Martinez may be able to give Pedraza some decent early rounds but eventually Pedraza will take over and look impressive on his way to an 8th round stoppage.
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