Jason Quigley vs. Glen Tapia:
Recently Golden Boy Promotions and ESPN struck a deal that would bring 42 fights, all put on by Golden Boy Promotions, to the network over the next two years. The fights will air on ESPN2 and will be billed "Golden Boy Boxing on ESPN." The first of those 42 cards will premier Thursday night when Jason Quigley (12-0, 10 KO) takes on Glen Tapia (23-3, 15 KO). That fight is scheduled to go 10 rounds in the top heavy middleweight division. For the 25-year-old Quigley this will be a big opportunity for him to make a name for himself with fans who probably haven't seen him before. He started his career facing a lot of inexperienced opponents but his last two, James De La Rosa and Jorge Melendez, were both tough tests that he passed with flying colors. He won every round on all three scorecards against De La Rosa and then knocked Melendez out in the very first round. Quigley fights out of the orthodox stance and he is definitely a heavy hitter. He likes to use his jab to find the distance for a heavy right hand and he nevers forgets to work the body. While the right hand is his best weapon he also has a nice left hook and he usually works behind a tight guard. At times he can get over aggressive and get caught trying to unload but that is something he should be able to correct. Tapia built his name as a fan friendly boxer-puncher who grew a strong following in the New York and New Jersey area since he was a native of Passaic, New Jersey. In 2013 he faced the toughest test of his career, James Kirkland on an HBO co-feature and his career has never been the same. Tapia tried to get Kirkland out early but when he was unable to do so, Kirkland really started to come on. Kirkland finally finished Tapia in the sixth round but it should have been stopped by his corner much earlier. After that loss he strung together three knockout wins in a row before being upset, in New Jersey, by Michel Soro when Soro stopped him in the fourth round. He then was fed to David Lemieux who stopped him also in the fourth round. While Tapia can still mix it up it doesn't seem that he can take a real power punch anymore so he could be in trouble against Quigley. Tapia works out of the orthodox stance and he likes to use his jab to set up a nice right hand. Along with that right hand Tapia also has a good left hook and on the inside he does a nice job of landing uppercuts. But his chin has let him down before and Quigley is a big puncher. Another knockout could result in the end of Tapia's career but he may be relegated to being a gatekeeper for young prospect anyway like he is against Quigley. Unfortunately for Tapia this fight will result in another knockout loss for him when Quigley stops him in the fifth round.
Randy Caballero vs. Jesus Ruiz:
The co-feature for Golden Boy Boxing on ESPN's debut card will be a bout between Randy Caballero (23-0, 14 KO) and Jesus Ruiz (36-7-5, 25 KO). Their fight is scheduled to go 10 rounds from the junior featherweight division where the undefeated Caballero is still a newcomer. Caballero is an orthodox fighter who has an aggressive style but not overly aggressive. He works behind a nice up and down jab and he will often follow it with a strong overhand right. Caballero likes to throw the left hook also, especially on the inside, but his best weapon is that right hand. He does a decent job of cutting off the ring but will still need to improve that skill moving forward. Defensively Caballero hasn't really been tested because he really hasn't faced anyone of note and he will need to start stepping up the level of his opposition soon if he wants to really get the attention of the fans. Ruiz is also an orthodox fighter and his 48 career fights at just 27 years of age is not very common. Early in his career he fought plenty of sub par opponents but in recent years he has been in the ring with Diego De La Hoya and Leo Santa Cruz, losing to both. Against Santa Cruz he was stopped in the eighth round and against De La Hoya he lost every round on two cards and every round except one on the other card. Ruiz works behind a quick jab but he often just throws one at a time without following it up with any more significant punches. When he does throw a right hand or left hook they generally are thrown wide but he can surprise an opponent coming in and catch them with a good left hook. What will let Ruiz down in this fight is his punch output. Caballero is the busier puncher and he is also the more skilled fighter. Ruiz will make him work for the first few rounds but once Caballero finds his groove he will take over on his way to a ninth round stoppage win.
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