Showtime Quick Picks

James DeGale vs. Lucian Bute: It will be a busy Saturday night for boxing on Showtime as they set to air a pair of fights on Showtime and a few more on Showtime Extreme.  The main even of Saturday's Showtime card will be a fight between James DeGale (21-1, 14 KO) and Lucian Bute (32-2, 25 KO).  The fight is scheduled to go 12 rounds in the super middleweight division for DeGale's recently won IBF title.  DeGale had been well known in the U.K. after picking up a gold medal in the middleweight division at the 2008 Olympic games but made a name for himself across the pond after beating Andre Dirrell in his U.S. debut.  DeGale is a southpaw who moves very well in the ring.  He has a nice job and a strong overhand left and he has shown the ability to box from the outside as well as mix things up in close.  At 35 years old Bute may be nearing the end of his career at the top level.  In his most recent fight he destroyed Andrea Di Luisa, landing nothing but power punches until Luisa's corner threw in the towel.  However in his last fight against a top opponent, Jean Pascal, he was dominated.  Bute is also a southpaw and he shows a nice jab along with a very stiff straight left hand.  Bute has been through many tough fights though and appears to be a rapidly ageing 35-year-old.  If Bute looks like he did a few years ago this could be a very good fight between boxer-punchers.  However, DeGale is younger and moves much better in the ring and that will allow him to dictate the fight and get the unanimous decision victory.


Isaac Chilemba vs. Eleider Alvarez: The other fight on Showtime's card will be a WBC light heavyweight title eliminator between Isaac Chilemba (24-2-2, 10 KO) and Eleider Alvarez (18-0, 10 KO).  Chilemba looked sharper than ever in his most recent fight against Vasily Lepikhin in March and he certainly has the experience advantage over Alvarez.  Chilemba is an orthodox fighter who fights well from the outside with quick jabs and straight right hands but he can also do some decent work in close.  When Chilemba gets inside he likes to unleash his left hook to the body and also lands his uppercuts well.  Chilemba seems to be at his best when he is being busy and playing the role of aggressor so look for him to play that role against Alvarez.  Alvarez comes from Columbia where fighters have a reputation for being heavy handed but not highly skilled.  Alvarez is a bit different though, he is a boxer-puncher and isn't as wild as some of his countrymen.  Alvarez has a stiff jab and a very nice counter left hook and counter punching is his game.  Along with that left hook Alvarez will counter with right hands that come from all over the place.  However, Alvarez is actually older than Chilemba but hasn't been fighting professionally for as long as Chilemba and hasn't faced the same level of competition.  If Chilemba does play the role of aggressor Alvarez will be just fine sitting back and countering but he can't sit back too much or Chilemba could steal rounds from punch output alone.  This really seems like a toss up fight that could go either way but the experience of Chilemba will play a role late and he will escape with the split decision win.