HBO Fight Preview

Carlos Cuadras vs. Roman Gonzalez

As it has gone in recently, when Gennady Golovkin fights on HBO so does Roman Gonzalez.  The network has paired the two action-packed stars together with Gonzalez usually acting as the appetizer for Golovkin.  This Saturday will be different in that while Golovkin fights in London, Gonzalez will be taking on Carlos Cuadras in California.  However, both fights will be aired on HBO so the two remained linked.  Gonzalez will be moving up in weight for this fight and Cuadras will be putting his WBC junior bantamweight title on the line.

Cuadras is both the champion and underdog

Cuadras, who hails from Mexico and who fights out of the orthodox stance will be the bigger man come Saturday night.  He won't be that much bigger than Gonzalez though so he shouldn't get overconfident.  Cuadras is a heavy hitter who likes to work behind his jab.  Along with that jab Cuadras has shown a strong left hook as well as a dangerous straight right hand.  On defense nothing Cuadras does looks pretty and it often appears as if he is full of nervous energy, but that sometimes constant movement, especially from the pocket, works well for him.  He is also versatile in how he fights because he can find success both as the aggressor or the counter attacker.

This will be only the second time Cuadras has fought in the United States.  His first fight stateside was a win over an average opponent in 2014.  This will also be the highest profile fight of Cuadras' career and Gonzalez is vastly better and more dangerous than anyone Cuadras has faced in the past.  For his career Cuadras has put together an unbeaten record of 35-0-1 with a very strong 27 knockouts.  In his last five fights Cuadras has gone 5-0 with three knockouts and one of those wins came against Luis Concepcion.  While Cuadras will be the fighter bringing the title into the ring on Saturday he will also be the underdog and could change the course of his career with a win over Gonzalez who is currently ranked as the number two pound-for-pound fighter in the sport by Big Time Boxing.

Gonzalez is a heavy hitter in a small package

Gonzalez may be small but he packs a serious punch.  In fact Gonzalez is one of the heaviest hitters in boxing and it isn't often an opponent makes it to hear the final bell.  Gonzalez, who fights out of the orthodox stance, likes to work behind a stiff jab that helps set up his powerful straight right hand.  While his straight right hand can do damage when Gonzalez throws that punch as an overhand right it becomes even more dangerous for his opponents.  His best punch though is his left hook and he puts in tremendous work with that punch both upstairs and to the body and when he gets an opponent hurt he usually closes the show.

Comparing the resumes of Gonzalez and Cuadras it is easy to see that Gonzalez has been fighting the higher level of opposition.  Not only that but Gonzalez has also fought in the U.S. more often and has been part of higher profile fights, all of which should make him the more comfortable fighter on Saturday.  The career record of Gonzalez, who is better known by his nickname "Chocolatito," is a perfect 45-0 with an unbelievable 38 knockouts.  Among his victories are wins over Juan Francisco Estrada and Brian Viloria, among other notable opponents.  While this won't be the biggest fight of Gonzalez's career it will be his first fight as a junior bantamweight.  

This fight should be an electric one, as most of Gonzalez's fights seem to be.  Usually Gonzalez has a massive power advantage over his opponents and as a flyweight his power really hurt his opponents and he was able to dominate most of them.  It will be interesting to see how a naturally bigger fighter handles his power and it will also be interesting to see how Gonzalez handles the power of Cuadras who is also heavy handed.  Look for Cuadras to fight from the pocket in small bursts and then move out of danger and use his jab.  Meanwhile Gonzalez will probably be best served staying in the pocket where he can go to work on the body of Cuadras.

PREDICTION: Carlos Cuadras is a good fighter and should give Roman Gonzalez a very good fight, but he won't do enough to win it.  The early rounds will be close as each fighter feels the other out but in the middle rounds Gonzalez's power punches will start to find a home and that is when the fight will swing fully in Gonzalez's favor.  Cuadras will give it his all until the end but the end will come when Gonzalez stops him in the 10th round.

Yoshihiro Kamegai vs. Jesus Soto Karass II

Their first fight is a candidate for Big Time Boxing's 2016 Fight of the Year and on Saturday night they will do it all again.  The first time Yoshihiro Kamegai and Jesus Soto Karass met their excellent action fight ended in a draw.  It was one of those fights where had it gone either way or been ruled a draw no one would mind because that it how close it was.  Now the two will meet again in a scheduled 10-round fight in the junior middleweight division.

Kamegai is known for being in brawls

The way Kamegai fights may be best described as reckless.  He loves to stay in the pocket and go toe-to-toe and he never throws anything to score points with, he throws punches always looking for the knockout.  Don't expect Kamegai to jab much because he is usually in so tight there isn't any room to throw it.  Instead Kamegai relies on left hooks and strong right hands along with a rock solid chin, all of which allow him to find plenty of success from the pocket.  Defensively Kamegai isn't great and while he does take a lot of punishment he has an excellent chin and has never been dropped as a pro.

Kamegai has been fighting professionally since 2005 but he really burst onto the scene in the U.S. in 2014 after going to war with Robert Guerrero.  While Kamegai lost that fight he earned a legion of new fans and their numbers only grew after he turned in another fantastic performance against Soto Karass in their first meeting.  Kamegai's professional record is 26-3-2 and he has a very strong 23 knockouts although he isn't really a one-punch knockout artists and instead wears down opponents over time.  This will be a big fight for Kamegai's future because he is 2-2-1 in his last five fights and although he excites fans he also needs to win fights.

Soto Karass never shies away from a war

Describing the style in which Soto Karass fights is almost the same as describing the style of Kamegai.  Soto Karass is also an orthodox fighter who loves to put in work from the pocket and he never seems to take a backwards step.  Along with a strong overhand right Soto Karass also has a strong left hook that he does nice work with.  When he goes toe-to-toe, which seems like always, Soto Karass also does a nice job of landing uppercuts.  However, he isn't great on defense because he doesn't have very good footwork and he has been stopped three times in his career.

When it comes down to whose resume is better the clear winner is Soto Karass.  He has been in the ring with the likes of Devon Alexander, Keith Thurman, Andre Berto, and Marcos Maidana so he has seen better fighters than Kamegai before.  His career record is 28-10-4 and he has 18 knockouts which is fine but not overly impressive.  Also, just like Kamegai in Soto Karass' last five fights he has gone 2-2-1.

This fight probably won't be much different from the first.  Both men have very similar styles and both like to trade heavy leather which means this should be a real treat for boxing fans who crave brawls.  The winner of this fight could simply come down to who can absorb more punishment but it may also come down to who the busier puncher is.  While both fighters are 33-years-old Soto Karass started his career four years earlier than Kamegai and that means four extra years of taking punches.  Whoever is sharper and hungrier late may steal this one.  

PREDICTION: Fans of the sweet science may want to look away during this fight because not many boxing skills will be in display.  Instead this fight should be an absolute brawl with both men giving and taking plenty of punishment.  Their first fight ended in a split draw and this one should be just as close except this time around Kamegai will be slightly busier and will edge out Soto Karass for the majority decision win.