ShoBox The New Generation

Peterkin will look to remain unbeaten

Travis Peterkin vs. Radivoje Kalajdzic: Two prospects, both in their mid 20s, will headlined Friday's ShoBox: The New Generation card.  Those prospects are 26-year-old Travis Peterkin (16-0-1, 7 KO) and the 25-year-old Radivoje Kalajdzic (21-1, 14 KO) and they are scheduled to go 10 rounds in the light heavyweight division.  The more rounds a prospect goes the more you learn about them and Friday could be a good learning opportunity should the fight go the distance because neither fighter has ever gone past eight rounds.  Another thing neither of these prospects have done is fight a legit opponent, outside of Kalajdzic's fight against Marcus Browne, a fight he lost.  Since each fighter will be one of the best opponents the other has faced this could be a good fight.  Peterkin is a southpaw without real power but that doesn't mean he isn't a good offensive fighter.  Peterkin has a solid job along with a short right hook and he can also put in good work with his left hand.  However, there is a serious lack of tape of Peterkin online so unless you've seem him live it is difficult to tell just how good he actually is.  As for Kalajdvic he is an orthodox fighter who is coming off the first loss of his career.  The biggest advantage he will have over Peterkin is his power and although Kalajdzic isn't a massive puncher he certainly hit harder than Peterkin.  Offensively though Kalajdzic is awkward, and not in a good way.  His jab isn't great and his left hook is fine but not spectacular.  His most used punch though is his straight right hand which is accurate but when he throws it he tends to get countered often.  The defensive ability, or lack thereof, from Kalajdzic will be the difference in this fight.  Peterkin will be able to pick his spots and if he is patient and stays on the outside he should be able to pick Kalajdzic apart on his way to a unanimous decision win.  

Baranchyk has been a knockout machine

Ivan Baranchyk vs. Zhimin Wang: The co-feature for Friday's ShoBox: The New Generation bout also has two prospects in action.  Those prospects are Ivan Baranchyk (11-0, 10 KO) and Zhimin Wang (7-0, 3 KO) but really Baranchyk is the fighter to watch.  At just 23 years old Baranchyk has looked good and has been regularly knocking out opponents, including his last three who all entered the ring unbeaten.  Meanwhile Wang has faced a litany of sub par fighters and in his seven career fights only one opponent had a winning record at the time they fought.  While Baranchyk, who fights out of the orthodox stance, throws a jab it doesn't matter much because his style revolves around his power punches.  Both the left hook and right hand of Baranchyk can do serious damage  and he can hurt opponents even if he doesn't land a punch clean.  Wang is also an orthodox fighter but he lacks the power that Baranchyk has.  Wang's jab isn't great but he does have a nice right hand that is accurate.  The bets punch Wang throws though is his counter left hook which can catch opponents by surprise if they aren't careful.  This will be a battle of puncher vs. boxer with Baranchyk being the puncher.  Wang will need to play it extremely safe and move consistently if he hopes to win this fight.  Despite his efforts though he won't be good enough to beat Baranchyk who is going to win this fight with a sixth round knockout.