HBO Fight Preview

Terence Crawford vs. Felix Diaz

On Saturday night on HBO Terence Crawford will make his 2017 debut.  He will face off against Felix Diaz who will also be fighting for the first time this year.  The two are scheduled to go 12 rounds from the junior welterweight division and Crawford's WBO and WBC titles will be on the line.  Already a top 10 pound-for-pound mainstay Crawford will look to continue his rise to the top of the sport while Diaz will look to pull off the upset and take his career to new heights.

Crawford picking John Molina apart with his jab

Like many highly skilled pugilists, Crawford likes to dissect his opponent in the first few rounds.  Once he figures them out he goes about destroying them and he can find success as an orthodox fighter or a southpaw.  Usually Crawford will start in the orthodox stance but will spend the majority of his fights in the southpaw stance.  As an orthodox fighter Crawford has a nice jab that helps set up a good left hook and accurate straight right hand.  However, he is more dangerous as a southpaw because he jab is much stronger and he has a mean right hook.  Defensively Crawford can be touched but he never takes a beating because he moves well in the ring.  

As a professional Crawford has been perfect.  Since turning pro in 2008 Crawford has gone 30-0 with a strong 21 knockouts and he is currently ranked sixth in Big Time Boxing's top 10 pound-for-pound rankings.  His mixture of offensive ability and defensive intelligence has made him a very tough man to beat and all who have tried have failed.  Among his victims are John Molina, Viktor Postol, Yuriorkis Gamboa, and Ricky Burns.  His impressive wins already have fans dreaming of potential fights with Manny Pacquiao or Mikey Garcia but he needs to be careful not to overlook the dangerous Diaz.

Diaz landing a hard shot against Sammy Vasquez

Diaz is also a southpaw fighter and he will be at a height and reach disadvantage against Crawford.  He is highly skilled on both offense and defense and works behind fast hands.  When he fights on the outside Diaz can control the action with his jab and straight left hand and when he gets inside he always attacks the body with hard right hooks.  The only knock against him is that he doesn't have top end power but his skill set makes up for his lack of pop.  

As an amateur fighter Diaz won a gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and as a pro he has found almost as much success.  Diaz turned pro in 2009 and has gone 19-1 with nine knockouts and his only career loss came against Lamont Peterson in a fight many felt that Diaz actually won.  Most recently Diaz ruined the perfect record of Sammy Vasquez and he will look to do the same against Crawford.

This fight should be a highly skilled chess match between two fantastically talented pugilists.  Crawford will have the size and power advantage but Diaz is probably harder to hit cleanly.  The big question is how offensively minded Diaz will be against a naturally bigger man.  If he goes too defensive he will fall behind on the cards and would have a hard time catching up.  As for Crawford look for him to try and make this more of a phone booth fight in an attempt to impose his size and strength on Diaz.  

PREDICTION: Felix Diaz is a very good and very underrated fighter.  He has one loss on his record but should really be looked at as an undefeated fighter.  That will change on Saturday night though when the bigger and stronger Terence Crawford hands Diaz the first convincing loss of his career.  There will be many close rounds but when the final bell rings Crawford will get the clear unanimous decision win.

Raymundo Beltran vs. Jonathan Maicelo

Saturday's co-feature will be a title eliminator between veterans Raymundo Beltran and Jonathan Maicelo.  The two are scheduled to go 12 rounds from the lightweight division and the bout will be a title eliminator.  The winner of this fight should get his shot at IBF champion Robert Easter Jr. while the loser will have to start the climb to the top all over again.

Beltran catching Mason Menard with a flush jab

Beltran has a classic style and works out of the orthodox stance.  His stiff jab is one of his better weapons but he also has a strong left hook and quality right hand to go along with it.  That right hand can come in straight or over the top but the punch that does the most damage is his short right hook.  Defensively Beltran doesn't move much so he is there to be hit but if you trade with him he will throw plenty of return fire.  Also, Beltran does his best work from the pocket so look for him to try to make it a phone booth fight against Maicelo.

Earlier in his career Beltran was better known as Manny Pacquiao's sparring partner but he has made a name for himself in recent years.  His career record stands at 32-7-1 with 20 knockouts and he looked better than ever in his most recent fight against Mason Menard.  Beltran also has a win over Henry Lundy and probably should have gotten the nod over Ricky Burns.  In his last fight he looked very strong and was even more aggressive than usual so look for him to really go at Maicelo.  

Maicelo dropping Jose Felix Jr.

Maicelo is an orthodox fighter with quick hands and an awkward style.  He really loves to pump his jab and at times will do so unnecessarily but when he finds the proper range it can do damage.  Maicelo also has a strong left hook and a quick right hand that can catch an opponent by surprise.  Defensively Maicelo doesn't do a very good job of protecting his chin and instead relies mostly on his athleticism and quick reflexes to avoid punches.

In his native Peru Maicelo has long been a star.  Many though that star would translate to the United States but it never did, mostly because he was knocked out by Rustam Nugaev in what was supposed to be his breakout fight.  He also has a loss to Darlys Perez but his career record is 25-2 including 12 knockouts, not a bad record at all.  The best performance from Maicelo came in his last fight when he destroyed Jose Felix Jr., dropping him five times in his way to a wide unanimous decision win.  Now Maicelo will look to continue that success against Beltran.

The optics of this fight should be interesting.  Beltran has a classic style but nothing about him is quick twitch.  Meanwhile, Maicelo is very athletic and relies on his reflexes more than he does proper form or defense.  Because Maicelo has a major speed advantage look for him to stay on the outside where he can stick and move.  As for Beltra, look for him to do what he always does, try to get inside and make things rough.

PREDICTION: Jonathan Maicelo may get out to an early lead in this fight because of his speed and movement but that success won't last.  Eventually Raymundo Beltran will be able to consistently work his way inside and he will win this fight by stopping Maicelo in the 10th round.