Friday Night Fights Quick Picks

Trout's win over Cotto seems like a lifetime ago

Austin Trout vs. Luis Grajeda: This week is like a boxing fan's wet dream.  There will be a ton of high profile fighters in action and every fight card this week seems like it is at least a tripleheader.  That will be the case for a special edition of ESPN2's Friday Night Fights that will actually air on Thursday.  That card will be a tripleheader that will be headlined by one of the best junior middleweights in the world; Austin Trout (27-2, 14 KO).  Trout is coming off of a win in August against Daniel Dawson which followed back to back losses against Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and Erislandy Lara.  Those two losses followed the biggest win of Trout's career when he outpointed Miguel Cotto back in 2012.  Trout has been known primarily as a good defensive southpaw who likes to counter.  His jab is excellent as is his straight left hand and while it doesn't receive much fanfare his right hook can also do some damage.  However in his last fight things seemed to change and his defense wasn't as good as it has been in the past.  Trout was dropped twice in the 3rd round of that fight before rallying for the win.  Those knockdowns could have been an a one time thing they could an indicator that this is now Trout 2.0 and while he may not be as sharp as he once was he know makes much more exciting fights.  If Trout wants to get back to the top of the division he will need to handle Luis Grajeda (18-3-2, 14 KO) in this 10 round junior middleweight bout.  Trout shouldn't have that difficult of a time with Grajeda who has only faced off against two quality opponents in Jermell Charlo and Willie Nelson, two fights which he lost.  Grajeda is an orthodox fighter who uses his jab a lot, unfortunately for him though his jab never does much damage.  At time Grajeda can even look reluctant to fight and gets backed up easily.  His left hook comes in wide without much on it and his best punch is probably his overhand right.  This fight has the chance to be a real letdown considering Trout is a counter puncher and Grajeda doesn't always press the action so it may take a few rounds for someone to lead the dance.  Trout is in a different class than Grajeda and that should be clear on Thursday night when Trout leaves the ring with an easy unanimous decision victory.

Escandon can earn a title in a crowded division

Oscar Escandon vs. Tyson Cave: Out of the three fights on Thursday night only one will be for a title.  Junior featherweights Oscar Escandon (23-1, 16 KO) and Tyson Cave (24-2, 8 KO) will be competing for a vacant WBA interim title that could get the winner a shot at one of the bigger names in the division such as Guillermo Rigondeaux or Leo Santa Cruz.  Escandon is an aggressive orthodox fighter who cuts off the ring very well.  He doesn't have much of a jab and really just uses it to stay loose.  What Escandon does have is a lot of power for such a small fighter and he flashes it with his strong left hook and powerful overhand right.  One of his best punches is an uppercut he will throw with the right hand on the inside and while his defense is still a question he does look like a guy who can give a lot of fighters problems.  As for Cave he is a southpaw who is constant motion.  Cave very well may be one of the most awkward fighters in all of boxing.  He likes to use his long jab which he does successfully and then move around his opponent.  He doesn't have much power to speak of but he will throw a strange looking punch with his right hand that looks like the child of a hook and an uppercut.  Cave will also throw the left a lot while moving to his right but without anything on it.  Cave's best asset is his movement and ability to frustrate opponents with that movement.  This fight will be a chess match because Escandon cuts off the ring very well while Cave never stops dancing around it.  If Cave can use his movement and not let Escandon cut the ring off he may get the win but Escandon does that very well and should be able to force Cave to fight before stopping him in the 9th round.

Tarver is a long way from his glory days

Antonio Tarver vs. Johnathon Banks: If this card was the mid-2000's there would be no doubt that Antonio Tarver (30-6, 21 KO) would be the headliner.  Those were the glory days for Tarver getting the best of Roy Jones Jr. twice in their three meetings.  Now Tarver is a 46 year old heavyweight looking to continue his career.  On Thursday he will face off against Johnathon Banks (29-2-1, 19 KO) who is best known as being Wladimir Klitschko's trainer and also as the man who exposed Seth Mitchell's glass chin.  If Tarver's best wins were in the mid-2000's Banks' best win was his first fight with Mitchell in 2012 following the death of his mentor Emanuel Steward.  However Banks lost the rematch to Mitchell and probably will never get a win as big as that one was at that time.  Tarver is a southpaw who isn't in the best shape as a heavyweight but still knows all the tricks of the trade.  He has a good long jab on the outside but his right hook is ugly at this point.  Tarver's best punch is his short overhand left which has some power behind it and he also has a lot of power on his awkward uppercut that he throws with the left also.  Watch for head clashes in this fight since Tarver is a southpaw and Banks fights out of the orthodox stance.  Banks is a very intelligent fighter but doesn't carry much power on his punches.  Banks has a nice jab but he jabs from his hip much like Klitschko does, the problem for Banks is that he is 6'3'' not 6'6'' like Klitschko so that is dangerous for him.  His left hook is also solid but doesn't have much power behind it and his right hand isn't much to speak of.  If this fight does into the late rounds Banks should be better conditioned since he is younger and has been fighting as a heavyweight for longer.  However Tarver has all the experience and much better power which should allow him to get the unanimous decision win in an ugly fight.