Bernard Hopkins vs. Joe Smith
In what he is saying will be the last fight of his career the legendary 51-year-old Bernard Hopkins will take on the 27-year-old Joe Smith in a light heavyweight bout scheduled for 10 rounds. The two fighters are at very different places in their careers. Hopkins hasn't fought in nearly two years after losing a lopsided decision to Sergey Kovalev. Meanwhile, Smith is fresh off a huge upset of Andrzej Fonfara and now he hopes to add another big name win to his resume.
The main reason Hopkins has been able to fight at such a high level for such a long time is because of his dedication to the sport and himself. Hopkins always comes to the ring in great shape and never lets himself get out of shape between fights. The 51-year-old works out of the orthodox stance and he relies on his jab and straight right hand as his two major weapons. Hopkins is a defensive specialist and one of the best defensive fighters of his era. Along with that defense Hopkins is also a master at controlling the distance in a fight and when he does get inside he usually clinches and works the body. Frustrating opponents always seems to be part of Hopkins' gameplan and Smith will have to work hard not to let that happen.
When it comes to resumes not many are better than the one Hopkins has put together. He started his career in 1988 as "The Executioner" and will now finish it in 2016 as "The Alien." During that time Hopkins regularly fought the best of the best, including Roy Jones Jr., Felix Trinidad, Oscar De La Hoya, Joe Calzaghe, and others. His career record is 55-7-2 with 32 knockouts and he ranks as one of the best middleweights of all-time. Now he will take on the unique challenge of trying to beat a fighter who is more than 20 years his junior.
Smith is an orthodox fighter who isn't opposed to slugging it out. Smith definitely doesn't move well in the ring and often squares up too much to his opponents so he isn't hard to be hit. However, he has a ton of heart and becomes more dangerous when he is hurt, which he showed by stopping Fonfara after Fonfara had him hurt. What Smith does have going for him is a stiff jab that precedes a good straight right hand. Smith also has a nice left hook and he goes to the body well but his best punch may actually be a wild right hand, the punch he dropped Fonfara with. Still, there is no telling how Smith will handle a master like Hopkins.
Smith's career started in 2009, nearly 20 years after Hopkins began his career in the ring. His record as a pro is 22-1 with a strong 18 knockouts and his lone loss came back in 2010. That loss was a bad one though because he was knocked out by a 6-3 opponent who is now 7-9. Yet Smith was able to show he can hang with some of the better light heavyweights by stopping Fonfara which got him this fight against Hopkins. While Smith probably won't be able to box with Hopkins there is a chance he could knock him out.
Father time catches up with everyone, however, he seems to have lost the address for Hopkins because the Philadelphia veteran looks much closer to 35 than he does 55. Hopkins could teach a masterclass in boxing and he may do just that come Saturday night. Smith isn't the most skilled and he isn't the sharpest puncher but if he does catch an opponent with a wild power punch things don't usually end well for that opponent. If Smith tries to play it conservatively he won't do well against Hopkins, Smith needs to rely on his power and try to catch Hopkins with an awkward punch he doesn't see coming.
PREDICTION: Joe Smith will come out swinging in this fight and he may even drop Bernard Hopkins with an equilibrium type shot that doesn't do much damage. That won't be enough to beat the legend though and Hopkins will go on to win this fight by the way of unanimous decision in what will be a fitting send-off.
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| Hopkins' career has spanned nearly 30 years |
When it comes to resumes not many are better than the one Hopkins has put together. He started his career in 1988 as "The Executioner" and will now finish it in 2016 as "The Alien." During that time Hopkins regularly fought the best of the best, including Roy Jones Jr., Felix Trinidad, Oscar De La Hoya, Joe Calzaghe, and others. His career record is 55-7-2 with 32 knockouts and he ranks as one of the best middleweights of all-time. Now he will take on the unique challenge of trying to beat a fighter who is more than 20 years his junior.
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| Smith recently scored a huge upset over Fonfara |
Smith's career started in 2009, nearly 20 years after Hopkins began his career in the ring. His record as a pro is 22-1 with a strong 18 knockouts and his lone loss came back in 2010. That loss was a bad one though because he was knocked out by a 6-3 opponent who is now 7-9. Yet Smith was able to show he can hang with some of the better light heavyweights by stopping Fonfara which got him this fight against Hopkins. While Smith probably won't be able to box with Hopkins there is a chance he could knock him out.
Father time catches up with everyone, however, he seems to have lost the address for Hopkins because the Philadelphia veteran looks much closer to 35 than he does 55. Hopkins could teach a masterclass in boxing and he may do just that come Saturday night. Smith isn't the most skilled and he isn't the sharpest puncher but if he does catch an opponent with a wild power punch things don't usually end well for that opponent. If Smith tries to play it conservatively he won't do well against Hopkins, Smith needs to rely on his power and try to catch Hopkins with an awkward punch he doesn't see coming.
PREDICTION: Joe Smith will come out swinging in this fight and he may even drop Bernard Hopkins with an equilibrium type shot that doesn't do much damage. That won't be enough to beat the legend though and Hopkins will go on to win this fight by the way of unanimous decision in what will be a fitting send-off.
Joseph Diaz vs. Horacio Garcia
The second fight on HBO's tripleheader this saturday will feature one of the better prospects in all of boxing, Joseph Diaz. Diaz will be taking on Horacio Garcia in a fight that is scheduled to go 10 rounds in the featherweight division, one of the better divisions in boxing. This fight is especially important for Diaz because on a stage like this he needs to continue to impress so he doesn't backslide.
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| Diaz is one of the top prospects in boxing |
Diaz is a young prospect on the rise and he plies his trade out of the southpaw stance. While Diaz lacks top end power he has plenty of skills and just enough pop on his punches to make opponents respect what he's throwing. Diaz's most used weapon is his stiff jab he controls fights with but he also has a solid right hook. Diaz also has a very good straight left hand and he will throw the left overhand at times and that may be his most dangerous punch. Diaz is still very young so he hasn't been in with the best yet but everyone he has been in with his handled relatively easily.
Since his career started in late 2012 Diaz has been perfect. His professional record is 22-0 with 13 knockouts and since stepping up the level of competition in mid 2015 Diaz has gone 6-0 with three knockouts. It seems as long as Diaz keeps getting opportunities to show off his skills on high profile cards he will keep impressing fans and pushing his career forward.
Garcia is also a young fighter at only 26 years old. He works out of the orthodox stance and will have a power advantage over Diaz come Saturday night. Garcia has a stiff jab and a very good straight right hand that fires off like a piston. Along with that good straight right hand Garcia also has a nice left hook and he does a good job of banging that punch to the body. However, like Diaz, Garcia hasn't fought any top opponents and Diaz will probably be the toughest test of his career.
Garcia started his professional career in 2008 but really hasn't ever fought an opponent as dangerous as Diaz. As a pro Garcia has gone 30-1-1 with a solid 22 knockouts and if he can catch Diaz with his power he may be able to hurt him. A win for Garcia would not only be an upset but could really change the type of fights he gets.
This fight could be a competitive one of Garcia can make Diaz feel his power early on. If Garcia can't land something meaningful in the early rounds he may spend the rest of the fight chasing Diaz on the scorecards. Diaz should look to stay on the outside and control this fight with his jab and straight left hand. When Diaz does get inside he should look to land a few quick punches and then clinch to avoid the body work of Garcia, especially his left hook.
PREDICTION: Horacio Garcia will need a homerun punch to win this fight but that punch isn't going to land. Instead Joseph Diaz will look very sharp in this one and will box his way to a clear unanimous decision victory.
Since his career started in late 2012 Diaz has been perfect. His professional record is 22-0 with 13 knockouts and since stepping up the level of competition in mid 2015 Diaz has gone 6-0 with three knockouts. It seems as long as Diaz keeps getting opportunities to show off his skills on high profile cards he will keep impressing fans and pushing his career forward.
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| Garcia has the power advantage against Diaz |
Garcia started his professional career in 2008 but really hasn't ever fought an opponent as dangerous as Diaz. As a pro Garcia has gone 30-1-1 with a solid 22 knockouts and if he can catch Diaz with his power he may be able to hurt him. A win for Garcia would not only be an upset but could really change the type of fights he gets.
This fight could be a competitive one of Garcia can make Diaz feel his power early on. If Garcia can't land something meaningful in the early rounds he may spend the rest of the fight chasing Diaz on the scorecards. Diaz should look to stay on the outside and control this fight with his jab and straight left hand. When Diaz does get inside he should look to land a few quick punches and then clinch to avoid the body work of Garcia, especially his left hook.
PREDICTION: Horacio Garcia will need a homerun punch to win this fight but that punch isn't going to land. Instead Joseph Diaz will look very sharp in this one and will box his way to a clear unanimous decision victory.
Oleksandr Usyk vs. Thabiso Mchunu
The opening card of Saturday's HBO card will be a 12-round cruiserweight title fight. The heavy hitting Oleksandr Usyk will be defending his WBO title against Thabiso Mchunu as Usyk continues to work towards his dream of becoming a star in the U.S. and winning a heavyweight title. While a win over Mchunu wouldn't make Usyk a star by any means, an impressive knockout and an HBO card will definitely help raise his profile.
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| Usyk has serious power |
Usyk is a heavy handed southpaw who works behind movement and a quick jab. Usyk will work upstairs with that jab but also does a nice job of sticking it to the body of his opponents. While Usky's right hook is a solid weapon the real danger comes when he throws his left hand. That left hand can do damage in a number of ways and what makes Usyk dangerous is the fact that he has a tremendous amount of power and can also box well.
Hailing from Ukraine, Usyk got a late start to his professional career like many Eastern European fighters do. His pro career started in 2013 when Usyk was about 26 years old and since than he has put together a record of 10-0 with nine wins coming by the way of knockout. The only time he didn't stop an opponent before the final bell was in his most recent fight with Krzysztof Glowacki, who had made a name for himself by knocking out Marco Huck and beating Steve Cunningham.
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| Mchunu will look to score the upset of Usyk |
Like his opponent Mchunu also fights out of the southpaw stance. On Saturday Mchunu will have a serious disadvantage in size as he will be giving up 4-inches in height and nearly 6-inches in reach to Usyk. While Mchunu doesn't have much power he does have quick hands that enable him to throw a good jab and even better straight left hand. The right hook of Mchunu isn't as dangerous as his straight left but it still can't be overlooked. Defense has been an issue for Mchunu though and both of his career losses have been via the knockout.
Mchunu doesn't have a very impressive resume and he has mostly faced journeymen fighters. The two best opponents on his resume are Garrett Wilson and Eddie Chambers and his career record is 17-2 with 11 knockouts. Usyk might be Mchunu's most dangerous opponent to date and the fact that both of his career losses were knockouts won't help him against a heavy hitter like the Ukrainian.
This fight could end quickly or it could be competitive until the end, it all depends on hos Mchunu's chin holds up. If he eats a few punches early and decides he can hang with Usyk look for him to stick and move while trying to consistently land his straight left hand. However, if he tastes Usyk's power and doesn't like how it tastes he may not engage much. Usyk needs to cut off the ring and not let Mchunu control the distance with his quick jab and straight left hand.
PREDICTION: Thabiso Mchunu will steal the first few rounds in this fight. His quick jab and straight left hand will help him control the distance but only for so long. Eventually Oleksandr Usyk will start to land his power punches he and will stop Mchunu in the 10th round, keeping his perfect record intact.
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