David Lemieux vs. Marcos Reyes
Fresh off of his Knockout of the Year candidate in March, David Lemieux will return to the ring this Saturday in the co-feature for the HBO pay-per-view undercard headlined by Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. Lemieux will be taking on the tough Marcos Reyes in a fight scheduled to go 10 rounds from the middleweight division. Both men have good power and aggressive styles so it should be a good action fight.
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| Lemieux right after knocking Curtis Stevens out |
Lemieux is an orthodox fighter whose calling card is his power. He fights behind a stiff jab that can score or help measure the distance for his power punches and he may even be more successful if he used that jab more. His best punch is his left hook and that is the punch that knocked Curtis Stevens out cold in his last fight. However, he is also skilled with his right hand. Lemieux has a stiff straight right hand he loves to stick to the body but he also has a wild overhand right that isn't accurate but is thrown with bad intentions. Uppercuts are also part of Lemieux's offensive arsenal and most opponents can't stand up to his power. Defense is a problem for Lemieux though because he squares up way too much to his opponents and often forgets about return fire when he's on the attack.
After back-to-back losses in 2011, Lemieux really had to rebuild his career. That rebuilding process included winning nine fights in a row, seven by the way of knockout. Those wins led him to a showdown with fellow power puncher Gennady Golovkin. However, in that fight Lemieux was taken apart and stopped easily by Golovkin. Since that loss Lemieux has fought three times going 3-0 with two knockouts and his career record is 37-3 with an outstanding 33 knockouts. In his three losses though he has been stopped twice so he needs to be careful against a puncher like Reyes.
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| Reyes landing a right hand on Chavez Jr. |
The big advantage for Reyes in this fight will be his height. He is a solid 4-inches taller than Lemieux and could use that to his advantage. However, using his height to box from the outside really isn't Reyes' game. He has a measuring stick jab he uses out of the orthodox stance and he also has a strong left hook. Reyes usually throws a lot of right hands but they aren't very skilled punches. Defensively Reyes is also vulnerable and he has been knocked out and dropped multiple times in his career so he too needs to be careful for the power of Lemieux.
Reyes has spent the majority of his career fighting in his native Mexico on lower profile cards. His biggest fight came against Chavez Jr. in 2015 but he lost a lopsided decision in that bout. His career record stands at 35-4 with solid 26 knockouts but he will be at a power disadvantage come Saturday night.
This should be a fun fight leading into the main event. Both Lemieux and Reyes like to mix things up and both have good power which means this fight probably won't see the final bell. It will be interesting to see if Reyes uses his height advantage intelligently but chances are this will be a phone booth fight with plenty of power punches exchanged. Since Lemieux is the bigger puncher he should get the better of those exchanges so Reyes could be in for a long night.
PREDICTION: Marcos Reyes is a tough fighter who won't show up to lose but his propensity to exchange heavy leather will be his downfall. David Lemieux will look just as good as he did against Curtis Stevens and he is going to knock Reyes out in the fifth round.
Lucas Matthysse vs. Emmanuel Taylor
One of the other fights on HBO's pay-per-view card will mark the return of Lucas Matthysse. Matthysse has been out of the ring since late 2015 after being stopped by Viktor Postol. For his return Matthysse has the perfect opponent in Emmanuel Taylor and together they should make for a fun fight. The two are scheduled to go 10 rounds in the seemingly always crowded welterweight division.
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| Matthysse being counted out in his last fight |
Not too long ago Matthysse was viewed as one of the most dangerous punchers in boxing. That was mainly because he has such tremendous power in both hands out of the orthodox stance. He sets everything up with a stiff jab that allows him to work his way into the pocket and really open up. Matthysse's left hook to the body is a brutal punch but he can end a fight with a right hand upstairs as well. Also he can land that right hand from the outside or in the pocket so there is really no distant where an opponent is safe from a Matthysse power punch. Defensively though Matthysse has his issues and his eye was damaged in his last fight so there is really no telling how much he has left in the tank.
Throughout his career Matthysse has always sought out the best opposition. He has bouts against Zab Judah, Devon Alexander, Lamont Peterson, Danny Garcia, Ruslan Provodnikov, and Postol on his resume, all excellent fighters. Many of those fights were wars and at 34 years old his tank is certainly not on full anymore. His career record is 37-4 and among those 37 wins are 34 knockouts and in most instances even when Matthysse losses it is a very close fight.
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| Taylor landing a right hand on Adrien Broner |
Taylor is also an orthodox fighter who likes to mix things up. He has a pretty good jab but doesn't look to score with it as much as he tries to use it to set up his power punches. Behind that jab Taylor looks to land a heavy straight right hand and he also has a strong chopping right hand. Along with the right he also has a nice left hook however, he usually stands right in front of his opponent so he is definitely there to be hit.
Despite never truly rising to the top ranks, Taylor has a lot of good names on his resume. They include Antonio Orozco, Adrien Broner, Karim Mayfield, Chris Algieri, and Victor Cayo. Unfortunately though in most of his step up fights Taylor has come up short. His record as a professional is 20-4 with a respectable 14 knockouts but he will clearly be the less powerful fighter when he steps in against Matthysse.
Both Matthysse and Taylor usually make good fights and this one should be no different. Neither fighter uses their legs all that well so both should be standing in front of each other looking to hit a home run. If Matthysse's tank has been depleted enough than Taylor could take advantage so look for him to push Matthysse early and stay busy for however long this fight lasts. Matthysse may show some rust early but once he gets going he should look to put a beating on Taylor's body in order to slow him down and then stop him.
PREDICTION: Despite Emmanuel Taylor's best efforts he will not do enough to win this fight. Although he has never been stopped Taylor has been down multiple times and Lucas Matthysse will add to that number and will become the first man to stop Taylor when he ends the fight in the ninth round.
Joseph Diaz vs. Manuel "Tino" Avila
Kicking HBO's card off will be an excellent fight, at least on paper, between two young prospects looking to make their way to contender status. Those fighters are Joseph Diaz and Manuel "Tino" Avila who are 24 and 25 years old respectively and both enter the fight with perfect records. It will be an important and high profile fight for both men so expect both to come in sharp and ready. The fight is scheduled to go 10 rounds in the featherweight division and since neither fighter is a big puncher it should go the distance.
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| Diaz landing a big right hook |
Diaz, who fights out of the southpaw stance, works behind a stiff and accurate jab. Along with a stiff jab he has also shown a nice short right hook but he does his most damage with a good left hand. That left comes in the form of an overhand left and when it lands clean it can definitely do damage. While Diaz doesn't have huge power he does hit hard enough to get opponents respect. Defensively Diaz has yet to be truly tested but so far whatever test he has faced he has easily passed.
At just 24 years old Diaz is definitely one of the brighter prospects in boxing. He has beaten solid veteran fighters but his best win was probably his wide unanimous decision win over Jayson Velez on the undercard of the fight between Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and Liam "Beefy" Smith. His professional record is a perfect 23-0 and he has a respectable, if not overwhelming, 13 knockouts. This fight will be the first time Diaz has faced off against another undefeated prospect so it should be a fun one.
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| Avila landing an accurate left hook |
Avila is a skilled offensive fighter out of the orthodox stance but he does lack any serious power. He has an accurate jab and fast hands that allow him to put his punches together well. Behind that jab Avila has a very accurate straight right hand and despite lacking big time power he does have a nice left hook. Usually Avila easily outboxes his opponents but on occasion he really has to work to get the win.
As a pro Avila has put together a perfect record of 22-0 but he only has eight knockouts. At 25 years old it isn't like he will suddenly find his power and that lack of power may end up hurting him moving forward. His best win to date was probably his unanimous decision over Rene Alvarado but beating Diaz would certainly eclipse that.
This should be a very even fight over the course of its 10 rounds. Diaz has more power but Avila has the hand speed advantage which could make things interesting. Avila doesn't fight that well in the pocket so since he is the heavier hitter Diaz may look to work inside. Expect Avila to try and box from the outside and stick and move in order to stop Diaz from sitting down on his punches. When two young, undefeated fighters go head-to-head on a major pay-per-view card it usually makes for a good fight and this one won't be the exception.
PREDICTION: This will be a close fight and both Manuel "Tino" Avila and Joseph Diaz will give good accounts of themselves. However, the power of Diaz will be the difference in this one because when things do move in close it will be Diaz getting the better of the action. When all is said and done it will be Diaz coming away with the extremely close unanimous decision win.
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