Showtime Fight Preview

Danny Garcia vs. Rod Salka

When boxing fans heard that Danny Garcia and Lamont Peterson were fighting on the same Showtime card most hoped and assumed they would be fighting each other.  Instead of that fight which would have generated a lot of interest Garcia will be fighting the unknown Rod Salka.  Fans also weren't very happy with Garcia's last opponent in Mauricio Herrera who is a quality fighter but not at the A-level.  Everyone was hot on Garcia following his impressive win over Lucas Matthysse but now a lot of fans are calling him out for being a cherry picker and also question how confident he is because he seems utterly unwilling to give Matthysse the rematch he deserves.  Before Garcia can get involved in any big fight he will need to first handle Salka on Saturday in their 10 round junior welterweight bout.

Garcia got a gift decision against Herrera

Garcia is a top fighter who typically finds himself on the fringe of the top 10 pound for pound rankings.  He is a boxer puncher who flashes a good jab from the orthodox stance and counters very well.  Another punch Garcia throws well is his straight right to the body.  It is no secret to boxing fans that Garcia's money punch is his left hook which he does serious damage with.  Defensively Garcia doesn't seem to be elite but is definitely solid and has a very good chin which has allowed him to never leave his feet as a professional.  Following his last bout which was a disappointing majority decision against Herrera, Garcia needs to step up and look very good against the severely outmatched Salka.

As a pro Garcia has been perfect.  His record is an impressive 28-0 and 16 of those wins have come by the way of knockout.  While Garcia has looked good throughout his entire career he really made his name in 2012.  That year he beat Erik Morales by unanimous decision then knocked out Amir Khan and ended the year by knocking out Morales in a rematch.  He followed that up by beating Zab Judah and Matthysse in 2013.  The thing about his resume though is that Morales was years passed his prime and Khan is a fighter who if you catch him you can win.  While he did look good against Judah he is a fighter also passed his prime and Judah came on late in that bout.  Against Matthysse Garcia was good but was seemingly losing the fight until Matthysse's eye closed and his corner couldn't do anything about it.  So while Garcia is a very good fighter with a perfect record he isn't elite just yet and he is fighting an opponent he should handle easily.

Salka couldn't even handle Canelo's brother

Salka is a boxer who likes to stay on the outside and land his jab.  He fights out of the orthodox stance and moves around the ring well.  One thing Salka doesn't do much of is let his hands go and usually settles to land a couple of jabs and dance out of danger.  Salka will also throw an overhand right but it isn't very sharp.  His best weapon is his footwork and defense and he will need to stick and move a lot against the heavier puncher Garcia because Salka himself has no power.

Salka is 31 years old and this will clearly be the biggest fight of his career.  His other notable fights came in his last two bouts against "Canelo" Alvarez's brother Ricardo Alvarez and Alexei Collado, going 1-1 in those bouts.  For his career Salka's record stands at 19-3 with a very weak 3 knockouts.  Salka should sit back and force Garcia to take the lead because if he tries to lead the dance Garcia should be able to pick him apart.

If this fight is competitive at all it would be a surprise.  The only thing Salka really has going for him is that he has never been knocked down or out as a pro.  However following his very disappointing homecoming fight in Puerto Rico against Herrera, Garcia should be looking to really impress and should be trying to land his left hook early and often.  Garcia needs to not only win this fight but he needs to do it in impressive fashion to keep his stock from falling while any success Salka has will only benefit his career.

PREDICTION: If Rod Salka wins more than three rounds it would be a moral victory that is how mismatched this fight is.  Danny Garcia may try to end the fight early but Salka's chin should hold up as he takes a beating for ten rounds but doesn't go down allowing Garcia to win the fight by a wide unanimous decision.

Lamont Peterson vs Edgar Santana

Unfortunately for boxing fans the co-feature of Saturday's Showtime card is also a mismatch.  Lamont Peterson who is still looking to get back to the top following his destruction at the hands of Lucas Matthysse will be stepping into the ring against Edgar Santana in a 12 round bout for Peterson's IBF junior welterweight title.  If Peterson can get past Santana he may get a fight with Danny Garcia but he needs to be careful not to overlook the once promising prospect.

Peterson is still on the comback trail

Peterson is an orthodox boxer who fights well from both the outside and inside.  From the outside Peterson can control the distance and pace with his good jab and footwork.  When things take place in a phone booth Peterson also fights well and likes to throw a good short left hook and his biggest punch, an overhand right.  Peterson also does a nice job of walking opponents down and cutting off the ring which allows him to get in close and land his uppercut.  The problem with Peterson is his defense.  While he has only been knocked out once he has been dropped seven times so a pressure fighter with heavy leather always has a chance to pull off the upset.

One thing that can be said for Peterson is that he has never strayed from a tough test.  During his career he has fought the likes of Timothy Bradley, Victor Ortiz, Amir Khan, and Lucas Matthysse along with other tough challenges.  For facing such stout opposition Peterson has a good record of 32-2-1 with 16 knockouts.  Following his horrible loss to Matthysse, Peterson took on the unbeaten Dierry Jean and won fairly easily and will need to do the same against Santana if he wants to get back into big time fights.

Santana has the power to check Peterson's chin

Just because this fight is viewed as a mismatch doesn't mean that Santana isn't a dangerous man.  Dangerous because this is probably his last shot at a legitimate title and big money fights and also dangerous because he has some power and goes to the body well.  Santana's best punch is his left hook to the body which Peterson will have to watch out for since he has been dropped by body shots in the past.  Santana doesn't have much of a jab from the orthodox stance but does have a nice overhand right.  Look for Santana to try and take the fight to the inside where he looks better because he doesn't have very fast hands.  Perhaps because of that lack of hand speed Santana usually throws one punch at a time and doesn't throw a lot of combinations.  Defensively Santana also has a bad habit of letting his right hand drift away from his body when he throws the left and will need to be careful not to get countered.

Back in the mid-2000's Santana was viewed as a nice prospect with good upside.  Things haven't gone very smoothly for Santana since that however with a short stint in jail along with a short lived retirement.  Then injuries also hampered his return to the ring.  Still through all that Santana continues to fight and has the biggest opportunity of his career in front of him on Saturday night.  Santana's career record stands at 29-4 with 20 knockouts and a win against Peterson would elevate him to a new level.

How good this fight is depends on Santana.  Peterson fights well from the inside or outside but Santana is much better at close range.  If Santana can get inside and stay there he may be able to hurt Peterson to the body and make this fight better than expected.  However if Peterson works his jab and moves his feet well enough to keep Santana from getting into the pocket he should be able to outbox him throughout the fight.  While Peterson should be able to handle Santana fairly easily Santana does have a punchers chance, especially if he can land the left hook to the body.

PREDICTION: Edgar Santana should come out strong since this is the biggest fight of his career.  He may be able to get inside for small stretches and put in good work to Lamont Peterson's body but his boxing skills aren't at the same level of Peterson.  Peterson will be able to use his jab to stay on the outside and box his way to a unanimous decision win.

Daniel Jacobs vs. Jarrod Fletcher

The fight that will start off Showtime's tripleheader will probably be the most competitive one.  That bout features cancer survivor and Brooklyn's own Daniel Jacobs who will be taking on Australian Jarrod Fletcher.  This will be a 12 round bout for a vacant WBA middleweight title and if Jacobs wins there are some very big fights to be made in his near future.

Jacobs is on the cusp of some big time fights

Jacobs is a talented fighter who with a win will move on to some very big things.  He is an orthodox fighter with good power.  For a fighter with such heavy leather Jacobs also moves around the ring very well.  He also has a nice jab and will double and triple it up at times followed by a good straight right hand.  Jacobs fights aggressively and has a good left hook that can end fights as well as a right hand that can do the same.  Something that has also helped Jacobs be successful is his high ring IQ and he is the type of fighter who can go for the knockout but adjust if he can't get it and still box to a victory.

The only thing standing in the way of Jacobs and some big time fights is Fletcher.  Recently Jacobs has called out title holders like Peter Quillin and Gennady "GGG" Golovkin both of which would be good fights and earn Jacobs some nice coin.  While he hasn't yet faced any elite fighters he has usually faced quality opposition and has a nice win over Giovanni Lorenzo.  As a pro his record is an impressive one of 27-1 with 24 knockouts and his only loss is to the skilled Dmitry Pirog.  Jacobs should look to impress against Fletcher but just getting the win should be enough to get him the big fights he yearns for.

Fletcher will look to impress in his U.S. debut

It should be pretty evident early on that Fletcher is just a step below Jacobs.  He does have an awkward style that sees him crouch low and throw from strange angles but that might not be enough to beat Jacobs.  Fletcher is an orthodox boxer whose jab is nice when he throws it from the proper range.  He also has a good right hand but he often walks in behind nothing which gives opponents plenty of opportunity to land heavy leather.

This will be the U.S. debut for Fletcher and it won't be an easy one.  He does have some wins over solid opponents but hasn't faced any elite fighters.  The best fighter he has taken on thus far is Billy Joe Saunders who stopped Fletcher in the 2nd round.  That was Fletcher's only loss and his pro record stands at 18-1 with 10 knockouts.  Beating Jacobs would do a lot to get Fletcher his own high profile fights.

The one thing to watch out for as far as Jacobs is concerned is nervousness.  He knows there are very big things in his near future and he has to shake the nerves off but also not look past Fletcher.  Jacobs has more power in this bout and is also the better boxer so he shouldn't have a tremendously hard time with Fletcher.  However Fletcher is awkward and could frustrate Jacobs and steal a few rounds.

PREDICTION: Jarrod Fletcher isn't a bad fighter but he isn't at the same level of Daniel Jacobs.  Jacobs is going to look impressive in this fight and will win this fight by the way of 6th round knockout.