Friday Night Fights Quick Picks

Tony Harrison vs. Antwone Smith: In the main event of this week's edition of Friday Night Fights will be undefeated, power punching prospect Tony Harrison (19-0, 16 KO).  Harrison will be facing off against Antwone Smith (23-5-1, 12 KO) in a junior middleweight bout scheduled to go 10 rounds.  At only 24 years old, Harrison is still a prospect and he has never gone passed 8 rounds but his power cannot be denied.  Harrison is an orthodox fighter who has a nice long jab he will use to do damage and also as a range finder for his powerful right hand.  The undefeated prospect also has a short left hook and a very heavy uppercut he likes to throw with his right hand.  Harrison scores most of his knockout with his right hand and while he tends to get wild when he has an opponent hurt it hasn't mattered much because he always finishes them off.  Going forward defense will be a big concern for Harrison who is not tight on that side of things.  Luckily for Harrison he will be challenged by Smith who doesn't carry much power and is coming off of a knockout loss.  Smith is also an orthodox fighter and likes to use the shell defense.  When it comes to offense Smith isn't a busy fighter.  He only uses his jab to set up his winging right hand which he throws with bad intentions, but he doesn't have much beyond that.  The bad news for Smith is that he was knocked out in his last fight with a right hand and that is Harrison's favorite weapon.  Smith may give Harrison a few good rounds but once Harrison starts to land the right hand consistently the fight will be all his.  Harrison may not be ready for the next level just yet but he is ready for Smith who he will stop in the 6th round.


Ievgen Khytrov vs. Jorge Melendez: The co-feature will also be headlined by an undefeated fighter.  Ievgen Khytrov (8-0, 8 KO) is a power puncher who hails from Ukraine.  He will be going up against fellow power puncher Jorge Melendez (28-4-1, 26 KO) in a 10 round bout in the middleweight division.  Khytrov has a nice jab out of the orthodox stance but it is his power punches that should scare opponents.  That power comes in the form of a left hook and a deadly right hand.  The right hand of Khytrov is a punch you can hear even if you don't see it.  He is an aggressive fighter but never gets too wild and looks to have a bright future in the sport.  Melendez is also an orthodox fighter but unlike Khytrov who has a very high ceiling, Melendez seems like he will be a tough B-level fighter who faces off against young prospects.  Offensively Melendez has some nice weapons in his quick jab, solid left hook, and heavy right hand.  However, on defense Melendez is not very nuanced.  When he faces a tough attack Melendez usually just puts on the earmuffs and waits for his opponent to stop throwing punches.  Just putting the earmuffs on will be dangerous against Khytrov who can finish a fight quickly.  This should be a fan friendly fight with a lot of power punches traded back and forth but Khytrov will get the best of it and win the fight via 5th round stoppage.