Raymundo Beltran vs. Takahiro Ao: Recently, perhaps in response to boxing adviser Al Haymon buying up free TV slots to put on his PBC cards, Top Rank CEO Bob Arum decided to put his own cards on free TV, signing a deal with Tru TV to do just that. The first of these cards will be on Friday night and the main event should be a good one between the tough Raymundo Beltran (29-7-1, 17 KO) and Takahiro Ao (27-3-1, 12 KO). The fight is scheduled to go 12 rounds with the winner earning the vacant WBO lightweight title. Beltran's last fight was a complete blowout at the hands of then lightweight kingpin Terence Crawford and he will look to get back on track against Ao. Beltran is an orthodox fighter who is the type who doesn't nothing great but everything pretty well. Beltran has a decent jab to go along with a good left hook and he typically likes to fight on the inside where he can make things rough and tumble. The best punch Beltran throws may be his uppercuts which can do a lot of damage when he gets in close. As for Ao, he has mostly fought in Japan where there aren't exactly a wealth of elite opponents. Ao is a southpaw with quick hands who has a good jab. The Japanese fighter also shows a great straight left hand and a short right hook that seems to catch opponents off guard. The speed of Ao will probably bother the slower Beltran, but Ao doesn't have much power and often paws with his punches. Also keep in mind that Beltran has experience with quick fisted fighters because he was the chief sparring partner of Manny Pacquiao for so many years. This fight will be an interesting contrast of styles but the bigger, stronger Beltran will get the better of the action on his way to a split decision win.
Zewski looks to remain perfect as a pro
Mikael Zewski vs. Konstantin Ponomarev: The more intriguing fight may be the co-feature which will be a battle between two young, undefeated fighters, neither of which will want to see there zero go. That fight will between the heavy handed Mikael Zewski (26-0, 20 KO) and the Russian fighter Konstantin Ponomarev (27-0, 13 KO). The bout is scheduled to go 10 rounds in the welterweight division and it should be a good one. Zewski is an exciting orthodox fighter who wastes no time letting his power punches go. Zewski's jab is solid and he will use it to set up a strong straight right hand which is a punishing punch. Zewski also has a strong left hook, but it is his right hand that does most of the damage. Ponomarev is also an orthodox fighter and both he and Zewski, are tall, lanky welterweights. Ponomarev uses his height well and loves to keep opponents at the end of his jab. While that jab may look good it often just gets flicked out so it won't do much, if any, damage. Ponomarev also drops a nice left hook to the body, but he is not a heavy handed fighter. His best punch may be an awkward looking uppercut he throws with his right hand, a punch many opponents have probably never seen before. While Ponomarev puts his punches together very well he is feather fisted so he will need to be very busy if he wants to beat the heavy handed Zewski on the scorecards. Neither fighter has ever lost, which means neither has ever been knocked out, however, that may change because Ponomarev likes to fight with his hands low and will often throw combinations without worrying about return fire. If Zewski plays it smart he can counter Ponomarev with his deadly right hand and he will get the win via 8th round knockout.
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