Eric Hunter vs. Antonio Escalante:
This Friday night over on Fox Sports 1 two fighters will be looking to inch closer to a title shot. Eric Hunter (20-3, 10 KO) and Antonio Escalante (29-7, 20 KO) will be going head to head for 10 rounds in the featherweight division. As it stands now the featherweight division is one of the best and most crowded divisions in boxing and fighters in that division really need to impress if they want to make a splash. Hunter is an orthodox fighter who loves to let his jab hand hang below his waist, and he tries to use shoulder rolls to deflect punches. Hunter gets away with doing that because he is very good defensively and has quick reflexes. Hunter isn't a very busy fighter but he does have a good quick jab and a lightning fast left hook that his opponents often don't see coming. Along with those weapons Hunter will also use a right hand thrown from awkward angles to do damage to his opponents. With all of his talent Hunter also has a reputation for being a dirty fighter at times. He has three career losses, one of which came very early in his career. The other two losses were of his own doing, both were disqualification losses, one for hitting on the break, and the other for repeated low blows. Those disqualification losses certainly don't help a young fighter trying to make a name for himself in a tough division. Escalante also has a few losses of his own, but he got them much differently than Hunter did. Escalante has seven career losses and six of them have been by knockout, including four that came within three rounds. Escalante is an all or nothing type fighter, he either scores a knockout or gets knocked out himself. Escalante is an orthodox fighter with a long jab and a mean left hook. Along with that left hook Escalante will throw a right hand but he doesn't look very comfortable throwing it. Obviously the problem for Escalante is his defense and one reason he gets knocked out so often is because when he throws his best punch, the left hook, all of his defense goes out the window and he is wide open to be countered and knocked out. As long as Hunter can avoid taking any big punches he doesn't see coming he should dominate this fight. Hunter is more skilled and the quicker fighter and he will cruise to a wide unanimous decision victory.
Abraham Lopez vs. Alfred Tetteh:
The other fight on Friday's Fox Sports 1 card will be a 10 round bout, also in the featherweight division. It is headlined by the undefeated Abraham Lopez (17-0-1, 12 KO). Lopez will be taking on Alfred Tetteh (23-3-1, 20 KO) from Ghana. While Tetteh's record appears pretty impressive, especially his knockout percentage, a closer look reveals it is all smoke and mirrors. Tetteh has only fought twice outside of his native Ghana, both times in the U.K., and both ending in losses. Fighters from Ghana don't always face a high level of competition and Tetteh is no exception. His opponents total records add up to 77-96-6 and 16 of the fighters he faced entered the fight without ever having won a professional match. Lopez hasn't faced many great fighters himself, but clearly he has had better opponents than Tetteh. Lopez is an orthodox fighter with quick hands. He flashes a good jab and backs it up with an accurate straight right hand. Most of Lopez's work comes from that jab and straight right hand and he is a quick and talented fighter. As for Tetteh there is absolutely no tape of him anywhere online. That is never a good sign and often happens with fighters who come from Ghana. Since there is no tape of Tetteh all we really know is that he is good at knocking out bad fighters and he has lost whenever he has faced a real opponent. Lopez is a real opponent and he should be able to easily outbox Tetteh on his way to a unanimous decision.
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