ShoBox Quick Picks

J'Leon Love vs. Rogelio Medina: Fans still have a few weeks to wait before the big dogs step into the ring on September 13th but there will be some boxing action to hold them over.  This Saturday Showtime will put on a ShoBox card headlined by an undefeated fighter who is promoted by one of those big dogs, Floyd Mayweather.  That fighter is J'Leon Love (18-0, 10 KO) and he will be in the ring against Rogelio Medina (32-6, 26 KO) in a 10 round bout in the super middleweight division.  Like many of the fighters in Mayweather's stable Love is being brought along slowly in an attempt to keep his undefeated record intact while he climbs up the ladder of the sport.  After his last win in May many fans thought Love would face a tough test and while Medina does have some pop on his punches he is also 2-4 in his last six bouts.  Love has shown himself to be a talented fighter but fans won't really find out about him until he really takes that next step up in competition.  What the orthodox fighting Love does have going for him is a good jab and straight right hand.  Love also likes to throw uppercuts pretty often and comes in awkwardly at times, crouching down to sit on his punches.  Another thing Love has going for him is the fact that he is a pretty good defensive fighter who generally has a good idea of what he wants to do in the ring.  While Love doesn't have big time power he does have a nice left hook and crooked right hand and he will bring those punches to the body on the inside.  One thing he does need to focus on is staying consistent and not taking rounds off.  Love should have the size advantage in this fight considering his opponent Medina usually fights in the middleweight division.  Medina isn't a slick fighter and will never be accused or running, he likes to stand in front of his opponent and trade leather.  He is an orthodox fighter whose defense is just putting on the earmuffs and he doesn't move around the ring very well.  Medina's best punch is probably his left hook but he also has a nice right hand and he will throw both of those punches to the body in volumes.  There is no doubt that Medina is a real tough guy but he has also been stopped by fighters without a tremendous amount of power.  In this fight Love will have most of the advantages and his quicker hands and feet will allow him to outbox Medina on his way to a unanimous decision. 


Badou Jack vs. Jason Escalera: The co-feature for Saturday's ShoBox card will also feature another Floyd Mayweather promoted fighter, this time in Badou Jack (16-1-1, 11 KO).  Jack will be in the ring with Jason Escalera (15-2-1, 12 KO) and the two fighters are scheduled to go 10 rounds in the in the super middleweight division.  Like his stable mate Love, Jack is also looking to step up his level of competition.  Most fans thought that this fight would be his step up but that plan was ruined when he was knocked out in the very 1st round of his last bout against journeyman Derek Edwards.  So instead Jack will face another prospect looking to get back on track in Escalera.  Escalera was an undefeated prospect until 2012 when he ran into the underrated Edwin Rodriguez and was demolished for an 8th round stoppage.  He followed that loss up with a unanimous decision loss to the completely unknown Lekan Byfield.  While it appears that Escalera may never reach the heights once thought he could his counterpart Jack can still have a bright future.  Jack is a talented orthodox fighter with a very good jab, a punch he likes to stick to the body like his mentor Mayweather.  Along with his nice jab Jack also throws a good left hook and has a decent right hand.  On defense Jack is solid and has some good footwork but he is vulnerable and will eat some clean punches.  Across the ring is a fighter in Escalera who will also take a lot of clean punches, especially counters which Jack should be throwing a lot of.  Escalera is also an orthodox fighter and he has some good power on his punches but he is wild.  Escalera has a nice left hook when he throws it short and crisp but often times he will try to land a homerun punch and miss wildly.  His right hand also comes in wide and looping which leaves him open to be countered but he does fight well on the inside and lands a lot of clean uppercuts.  The difference in this fight will come down to defense.  Neither fighter is elite defensively but Jack is clearly the better of the two.  Jack has also been fighting the higher level of opposition all of which will add up to him winning this fight by the way of majority decision.