HBO Fight Preview

Luis Ortiz vs. Bryant Jennings

Fans of the heavyweight division should really enjoy the main event of this Saturday's HBO card.  That card will be headlined by two top heavyweights, Luis Ortiz and Bryant Jennings and the fighters have only one loss between them.  The fight is scheduled to go 12 rounds and Ortiz's WBA interim heavyweight title will be on the line.  Something else will be on the line also, the chance for the winner to fight some of the best the division has to offer.

This will be the biggest fight of Ortiz's career

At 36-years-old the southpaw Ortiz really needs to make a splash.  The Cuban has a good stiff jab and he likes to double that punch up.  One punch he finds a lot of success with is his straight left hand and he does a tremendous job of sticking that punch to the body.  While the right hook of Ortiz is also a good weapon that isn't a punch he uses extremely often and he does most of his damage with his left hand.  One big question for Ortiz is stamina should this fight reach the championship rounds.  Ortiz is an older fighter and he has never gone passed 8 rounds as a pro.

The resume of Ortiz is not an overly impressive one.  While his record of 23-0 with an outstanding 20 knockouts is flashy when you look at his opponents the record isn't as impressive.  The biggest win of his career, a 1st round stoppage of Lateef Kayode in 2014 was overturned after Ortiz failed a drug test, and since then he has faced two limited opponents, stopping both early.  An early knockout of a fighter like Jennings would certainly look good on Ortiz's resume and it would also be the biggest win of his career.  One advantage Ortiz has is that he should be fresh considering he just fought in mid-October.

Jennings lone loss came against Klitschko

Jennings is an orthodox fighter in his early 30s who is looking to get another title shot.  The best weapon Jennings possesses is probably his body, he always enters the ring in great shape and his stamina has never been questioned.  Typically Jennings like to fight from the outside and he shows a stiff jab and a solid straight right hand to back it up.  Jennings, who fights out of Philadelphia, also has a nice left hook although he isn't overly powerful.  While Jennings doesn't find as much success on the inside he does land uppercuts well from that range.

The resume of Jennings has many more notable names on it than Ortiz's does.  In his last fight Jennings gave a good account of himself against Wladimir Klitschko although he did lose that fight.  Jennings has also been in the ring with solid fighters like Artur Szpilka and Mike Perez and he beat both of them.  As it stands now Jennings has a career record of 19-1 with 10 knockouts and a win over Ortiz on a high profile HBO card could earn him another shot at the top.

This fight will be interesting because both fighters have very different styles.  Most of Ortiz's fights end early and he relies on his power to walk through opponents.  Meanwhile, Jennings has gone deep in fights many times and he relies on his stamina, boxing skills, and quick hands for a heavyweight to win fights.  If Ortiz can get inside on Jennings and stay there he could really do some good work.  However, if Jennings can stay on the outside he should be able to outbox Ortiz and make it to the final bell.

PREDICTION: There is a very good chance that Luis Ortiz will stop Bryant Jennings in the late rounds.  However, Ortiz has never gone more than 8 rounds and Jennings is always in shape and sharp late.  As long as Jennings has a high enough punch output he will be able to outbox Ortiz and get the unanimous decision win.

Nicholas Walters vs. Jason Sosa

The co-feature for Saturday's HBO card will have Nicholas Walters back in action, this time in a new division.  Walters will be taking on Jason Sosa in a bout scheduled to go 10 rounds in the junior lightweight division.  Sosa is used to fighting at this weight but it will be the first time Walters fights in the division which comes after failing to make the featherweight limit of 126 pounds in his last fight.

Walters needs to look good against Sosa

Walters is an orthodox fighter who is one of the heavier handed little men in the sport, although at 5-feet 7-inches he is actually very big for his usual featherweight division.  Walters is an aggressive fighter but he never gets too wild like other power punchers tend to do.  The reason Walters is such a big knockout puncher is because he has power in both hands.  The Jamaican fighter can end a fight with his left hook or his overhand right and he also does a nice job of landing uppercuts with that right hand.  Defensively Walters isn't top shelf but he is good enough that it hasn't been a big problem thus far.

While Walters had some solid wins early in his career he really exploded onto the scene in 2014.  That year Walters beat Vic Darchinyan and Nonito Donaire and although he only fought once in 2015 that lone fight was a unanimous decision win over Miguel Marriaga.  Walters now has a perfect career record of 26-0 with a very strong 21 knockouts and on Saturday against Sosa he should be the much better fighter.

Walters will be the toughest test of Sosa's career

Sosa is an orthodox fighter who fights out of New Jersey.  While he has shown good power throughout his career he hasn't faced any real top flight talent.  Sosa flashes a nice jab and he likes to follow that punch up with a straight right hand.  While the left hook of Sosa is dangerous his real power comes from his wild overhand right.  That punch doesn't land often but when it does it often ends fights.

There aren't any big names on the resume of Sosa but his biggest win came against Jerry Belmontes in August of this year.  Sosa has a career record of 18-1-3 with a very strong 14 knockouts but he was knocked out by a fighter with only one career bout.  Sosa also has a draw early in his career against a 3-2 fighter but he hasn't had a blemish since September of 2012.  This will be a huge step up for Sosa and if he isn't ready Walters may make quick work of him.

There are many fighters that people want to see Walters face and Sosa would not be one of them.  Sosa has never been tested by someone at the level of Walters and usually he doesn't go very deep in fights.  The last time Walters fought he wasn't as aggressive as usual but he should be back to normal against Sosa.  Even though Sosa has never been really tested he has shown power so if he can catch Walters with a punch he doesn't see he could pull off the big upset.

PREDICTION: Jason Sosa may be a good fighter but he just isn't at the same level as Nicholas Walters.  Walters should look to make a statement on HBO after his last fight wasn't all that spectacular.  That statement will come in the 7th round when Walters stops Sosa.