Devon Alexander vs. Aron Martinez: Two fighters who are both coming off of a loss and are in need of a win will be going head-to-head in this Wednesday's PBC main event on ESPN. Those fighters are Devon Alexander (26-3, 14 KO) and Aron Martinez (19-4-1, 4 KO). The fight is scheduled to go 12 rounds in the welterweight division but no titles will be on the line. Alexander's last fight was a bad loss to Amir Khan and that fight was a near shutout for Khan. Martinez's last fight also ended in a loss which came against Robert Guerrero. Neither fighter has looked great as of late with Alexander losing two of his last four while Martinez lost three of his last four. The good news for Alexander is that he is a step up for Martinez and Martinez has never won any of his step up fights before. He lost to Jessie Vargas, Josesito Lopez, and Guerrero and certainly Alexander is as good or perhaps better than those fighters. Alexander is a southpaw with a very good chin and the only fighter who ever dropped his was Lucas Matthysse, although Alexander did win that fight. Alexander loves to use his jab and he has a very good one. Often he follows that jab with a quality straight left hand but he lacks a powerful right hook. Usually Alexander likes to fight on the outside but in the pocket he does flash a nice uppercut with his left hand. For a boxer Alexander isn't phenomenal on defense but he does move pretty well and isn't an easy target, unless of course you have the hand speed of Amir Khan. As for Martinez, he is an orthodox fighter who likes to make things rough on the inside. The best punch for Martinez may be his left hook to the body but he doesn't have much power at all and he loves to lead with his head. This fight won't be a battle of jabs because Martinez rarely uses one and instead he relies on left hooks and right hands downstairs. If Alexander can stick and move from the outside Martinez will have no shot. For Martinez to be successful he needs to be in close where he can make things rough and bang to the body. If Martinez can't slow Alexander down and make him stand and trade he will have a hard time catching the slicker Alexander. Both fighters are in need of a win but it will be Alexander who gets it by the way of unanimous decision.
Lee Selby vs. Fernando Montiel: The co-feature for Wednesday's ESPN card will be a title fight between Lee Selby (21-1, 8 KO) and Fernando Montiel (54-4-2, 39 KO). The bout is scheduled to go 12 rounds for Selby's IBF featherweight title and it will be a battle between a young fighter from the U.K. making his U.S. debut and a veteran Mexican fighter looking to take the young buck's belt. Selby is an orthodox boxer with a busy jab and solid straight right hand. He moves well in the ring but he showed in his last fight against Evgeny Gradovich that he is vulnerable to left hooks upstairs. Selby's left hook is decent but he has no real power. Also, even though he has fast hands he doesn't throw many combinations and instead likes to stick and move. Montiel is also an orthodox fighter and he has taken on some tough opponents like Jhonny Gonzalez and Nonito Donaire. Unlike Selby, Montiel doesn't do much work from the outside and his jab isn't a great weapon. His best punch from the outside is his straight right hand but he does his best work in close. Montiel isn't the busiest fighter but when he lets his hands go he looks to do damage. The veteran Mexican does have a nice left hook and he likes to counter with that hook and straight right hand. It will be interesting to see who takes the lead in this fight and who can control the distance. Selby loves to stick and move so Montiel may not have very many chances to counter and he could be better served trying to make things rough inside for the young fighter. Montiel's last loss came in 2011 and he has won eight fights since then and scored three knockouts. However, none of those eight opponents are at the same level as Selby who hasn't lost a fight since 2009 which was his fifth professional fight. At 36 years old Montiel still has some left in the tank but it will be Selby who comes away with the win on Wednesday with a unanimous decision.
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