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| Miller looks to remain undefeated |
Jarrell Miller vs. Fred Kassi:
On Friday Showtime will air a quadruple header on another edition of ShoBox: The New Generation. Headlining that card will be a pair of heavyweights in Jarrell Miller (17-0-1, 15 KO) and Fred Kassi (18-5-1, 10 KO). The two heavyweights are scheduled to go 10 rounds in what should be an exciting fight. While Kassi is far from elite he probably ranks as the best opponent Miller has seen to date so it will be interesting to see how the 28-year-old "Big Baby" handles that test. Miller is an orthodox fighter who is probably more athletic than his physique would make you believe. He fights behind a stiff jab and strong straight right hand from the outside but most of his best work is done from the pocket. On the inside Miller flashes a strong left hook and his uppercuts with both hands can be dangerous. If there is an area where Miller needs to improve it is defense. He doesn't use his feet all that well and will often put on the earmuffs as he waits for his opponent to stop punching. Against Kassi Miller will have a 4-inch height advantage along with a nearly 4-inch reach advantage. Kassi is an orthodox fighter who will occasionally switch to the southpaw stance. However, at times Kassi seems to get stuck in between the two stances and squares up to his opponent way too much. Kassi has a pretty nice jab out of both stances and as an orthodox fighter, has shown a strong left hook. Yet he often finds himself fighting backing up and that won't serve him well against Miller who can box well from the outside and bang from the pocket. Also, Kassi hasn't been great in recent bouts and is 1-3-1 in his last five bouts. Those bouts have come against quality opponents though like Chris Arreola, Amir Mansour, Dominic Breazeale, and Hughie Fury, all better opponents than anyone Miller has faced. This could be a fun fight with some good action but when all is said and done it will be Miller who walks away the victor when he stops Kassi in the eighth round.
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| Menard's last loss came in 2008 |
Mason Menard vs. Bahodir Mamadjonov:
The co-feature for Friday's ShoBox: The New Generation card will showcase two pugilists many boxing fans have probably never seen fight before, unless of course they are fans of ShoBox: Thew New Generation. They are Mason Menard (31-1, 23 KO) and Bahodir Mamadjonov (19-2, 11 KO) and they are scheduled to go 10 rounds in the lightweight division, a division that seems to be heating up. Menard is an orthodox fighter who plies his trade out of the orthodox stance. Earlier this year he really impressed when he knocked out Eudy Bernardo with a monster right hand that ended their fight immediately. Along with that devastating right hand Menard also has a good jab and he loves to feint, a skill not enough boxers utilize. Also, the last time Menard lost a fight was in 2008, just the third professional fight of his career. Since that loss Menard has won 29 fights in a row and most recently he is coming off back-to-back knockout wins. Mamadjonov is a southpaw who lacks Menard's fight ending power but he does have enough pop to earn an opponents respect. Mamajdonov has a nice jab, especially to the belly but his best punch is his right hook. However, Mamajdonov also has a questionable chin and although he has only been knocked out once he has been dropped multiple times. One thing Mamajdonov should be able to hand is the right hand of Menard because he doesn't often throw his left hand and always keeps it home to protect his chin. Even with that said though Menard should be able to win this fight and he will win it with a sixth round stoppage.
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| Eyubov has some serious pop on his punches |
Bakhtiyar Eyubov vs. Karim Mayfield:
Like all of the ShoBox: Thew New Generation cards this one will be teeming with prospects. Perhaps the heaviest hitting prospect of the bunch is Bakhtiyar Eyubov (10-0, 10 KO). Eyubov will take on Karim Mayfield (19-3-1, 11 KO) in a welterweight fight scheduled to go 10 rounds. This fight should feature plenty of power punches and both men have fitting nicknames for throwing them. Eyubov goes by the nickname "Bakha Bullet" and is another in a long line of Kazakh fighters who seemingly have otherworldly power, and Mayfield goes by the moniker "Hard Hitta." Now to be fair Eyubov has scored all 10 of his knockouts against flat out bad competition and Mayfield, although far from elite, will certainly be Eyubov's best test to date. As for Mayfield he has scored a knockout since 2013 and didn't fight at all in 2015 but when he does fight, at least recently, he has faced quality opposition in fighters like Thomas Dulorme, Emmanuel Taylor, and Dmitry Mikhaylenko. Eyubov is an orthodox fighter with a short, killer left hook. What makes it such a good weapon is the fact that he will bang it to the body with seriously bad intentions and he also happens to have a heavy right hand as well. Going forward Eyubov still needs to make some improvements but against the level of competition he has faced there hasn't been any problems. Mayfield is an orthodox fighter who likes to fight from the pocket. In close Mayfield can work his left hook and overhand right and find success. On the outside Mayfield's jab leaves something to be desired and he isn't great defensively. One thing Mayfield has going for him in this fight is the fact that he has never been knocked out but that will change when Eyubov wins this fight with a seventh round stoppage.
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| Nieves will look to remain unbeaten |
Antonio Nieves vs. Alejandro Santiago:
The other fight on Friday's Showtime quadruple header will be a bout between Antonio Nieves (16-0-1, 8 KO) and Alejandro Santiago (11-2-1, 3 KO). That fight will take place in the bantamweight division and is scheduled to go 10 rounds. Nieves is an orthodox fighter who works behind a long jab. Along with that jab Nieves does a nice job of always moving his head and he also has a nice looking straight right hand. However Nieves doesn't throw much of anything else which will be a problem if he continues to climb the ladder. He definitely fights better from the outside but he likes to be the aggressor and finds more success when he comes forward as opposed to fighting off his back foot. As for Santiago all that is really known is that he is an orthodox fighter with absolutely no power. There is no tape of him online, which is never a good sign for a fighter looking to score a victory and most of his fights have come against below average fighters. While Nieves will need to add some tools to his toolbox going forward what he has now will be enough to outbox Santiago and get the wide unanimous decision win.
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