Adonis Stevenson vs. Tommy Karpency: Since winning the WBC light heavyweight title with a 1st round knockout of Chad Dawson in 2013 Adonis Stevenson (26-1, 21 KO) has had a very disappointing title reign. Stevenson has been undefeated during that time but he proclivity to fight B-level fighters is frustrating for fans of the man known as "Superman." Stevenson will make another defense of his WBC title on Friday night against Tommy Karpency (25-4-1, 14 KO), a fighter who would still need a few big wins to be considered B-level. Karpency also holds a win over Dawson, albeit against a Dawson who appeared to have nothing left. Some of the other big names Karpency has fought are Andrzej Fonfara, Nathan Cleverly, and Karo Murat and Karpency lost all three of those fights. Some fans may be hoping that Karpency is just a stay busy fight for Stevenson before he takes on other fighters who sit with him at the top of the light heavyweight division but that may just be wishful thinking. Still, if he continues to win Stevenson will continue to find himself headlining televised cards and fans will have to continue holding out hope that some day Stevenson steps in the ring with Sergey Kovalev. Stevenson is a southpaw with a ton of power. "Superman" likes to keep his jab had low and shoot the punch from his hip and he also carries with him a very stiff straight left hand. It is Stevenson's left hand that is his biggest knockout weapon but he isn't just a homerun hitter, he can also box with opponents. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of Stevenson's style is the fact that he isn't as aggressive as most power punchers and often fights off of his back foot. The biggest question about Stevenson is his chin, he has been knocked out before and that chin may be one reason that he has ducked Kovalev in the past. Karpency is also a southpaw but he doesn't carry nearly as much power as Stevenson does. While Karpency does have a pretty nice jab his best punch, like Stevenson, is his straight left hand. Also like Stevenson, Karpency likes to keep his jab hand fairly low and shoot it from his hip, although his jab doesn't have the pop of a Stevenson jab. One thing Karpency does pretty well is circle away from danger but really everything he does well Stevenson does even better. Karpency has only been stopped once in his career but on Friday night that number will grow to two because Stevenson will win this fight by the way of 4th round knockout.
Errol Spence Jr. vs. Chris van Heerden: When boxing heads are asked who they think has the potential to become boxing's next pound-for-pound king many of them will say Errol Spence Jr. (17-0, 14 KO). Spence is still only 25 years old and has yet to face any top fighters but whenever he enters the ring he looks like a future star. This Friday Spence will once again continue his climb to the top in a fight scheduled to go 10 rounds in the welterweight division. While Spence still won't be taking on a top welterweight he will be faced with a solid test against Chris van Heerden (23-1-1, 12 KO). Heerden does have some wins over solid fighters like Matthew Hatton but he is clearly being brought in to play the role of opponent against Spence. Spence is a southpaw with incredibly fast hands and he does a tremendous job of working his jab upstairs and to the body. Along with that jab Spence also throws an accurate straight left hand and he also has a strong right hook. It is hard to tell what Spence's best punch is because they all look so good and he has solid pop on his punches with both hands. Perhaps even more important going forward for Spence is the fact that he is very good defensively and his footwork makes him look like a seasoned pro. Heerden is also a southpaw but he lacks the power that Spence flashes. Heerden who hails from South Africa likes to work on the inside and he does a good job of attacking the body. The best punch for Heerden is his right hook which comes in pretty quick, at least when compared to his slower straight left hand. The problem for Heerden in this fight is that Spence is not easy to make stand still and trade punches so he could have a hard time catching up to him. The South African will be a nice test for the still learning Spence but he won't be able to do enough to ruin his perfect record. Spence is the better fighter and he will beat Heerden by the way of unanimous decision.
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