- It was a very good weekend for boxing fans, but also a frustrating one due to competing cards on HBO and Showtime. Before those competing cards though Showtime aired a fight live from the U.K. in the afternoon. That fight was between rising heavyweight star Anthony Joshua and American journeyman Eric Molina. Joshua was the heavy favorite entering the fight and showed why as soon as the fight began. Molina had previously lost to other top heavyweights such as Deontay Wilder and he added a loss to Joshua too when Joshua stopped him in only the third round of their 12-round fight. The win set up a showdown between Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko which will take place in April.
- When the afternoon turned to night the action continued on Showtime with some high level fights. The main event of that Showtime card was a featherweight title fight between champion Jesus Cuellar and challenger Abner Mares. Mares looked too fast for Cuellar from the start and Cuellar could never mount a sustained attack. The fight did stay close but it was clear that Mares was putting in the better work which is why it was surprising when one judge awarded Cuellar the victory. However, the over two judges scored the fight for Mares, giving him the win and making him a four-time champion. Also on that card was a very intriguing bout between Jermall Charlo and Julian Williams. Charlo put his IBF World junior middleweight title on the line in that fight and started fast by dropping Williams in the second round. Williams would come back nicely in the third round and showed excellent defense and counter punching in round four. However, in the fifth round Charlo caught Williams with a beautiful counter uppercut that floored and badly hurt Williams. Although he made it to his feet it was clear Williams was in bad shape and Charlo dropped him again shortly after, ending the fight and showing that Charlo is one of, if not the best junior middleweight in the sport.
- HBO also had plenty of fights to keep fans happy on Saturday night. That HBO card started with a heavyweight title fight between two undefeated fighters in Joseph Parker and Andy Ruiz Jr.. Ruiz started off quickly in that fight and built an early lead, only to see Parker get stronger as the fight wore on. When all was said and one Parker was awarded the split decision in a fight that could have easily gone a round either way or been ruled a draw. The next fight on that card was between veteran Raymundo Beltran and upstart slugger Mason Menard. Menard put in some decent work early but Beltran was bigger and stronger and slowly began to break the younger fighter down. Beltran look sharper and stronger than he ever has and he knocked Menard out in the seventh round. It was a fun fight though with the first round being a candidate for Round of the Year and the knockout might be a contender for Knockout of the Year. When the main event started it went down as most people expected it to. Terence Crawford took on John Molina and from the opening bell was able to do anything he wanted. Like a true pro Crawford took his time taking out Molina and never got too aggressive. Crawford hurt Molina to the body in the eighth round and quickly finished him off with a multitude of punches.
- The final fight of the night took place on beIN Sports Espanol. That fight featured the return of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. taking on the unknown Dominik Britsch. That fight was at a catchweight of 169 pounds and Chavez controlled the entire fight, winning nine out of 10 rounds on all three scorecards on his was to a unanimous decision win.
WEEKLY RECORD: 3-4
MONTHLY RECORD: 5-6
OVERALL RECORD: 807-229-33
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