PBC on FS1 Quick Picks

Benavidez connecting with a left hook

David Benavidez vs. Rogelio "Porky" Medina: With an incredibly busy night of boxing this Saturday some fights may get overlooked.  Unfortunately for the PBC the card that gets overlooked may be their card on Fox Sports 1.  The main event of that card pits the undefeated David Benavidez (17-0, 16 KO) up against the always tough Rogelio "Porky" Medina (37-7, 31 KO) and they are scheduled to go 12 rounds in what will be a WBC super middleweight title eliminator, a title that is currently vacant.  Benavidez is an orthodox fighter who is a serious prospect at just 20 years old.  He has a stiff jab but he does occasionally let his right hand drift away from his chin when he throws it.  Along with the jab Benavidez has a decent left hook and a big right hand he uses to end fights.  Another bad habit that he has is squaring up too much to his opponent but he is so young that he has plenty of time to make improvements.  As for Medina, he will have a serious experience advantage against Benavidez.  Medina has been in the ring with Jose Uzcategui, Badou Jack, J'Leon Love, and James DeGale and while he didn't fare well in most of those fights he was able to knock Love out.  Medina is also an orthodox fighter and he too has good pop on his punches.  While his jab isn't much of a weapon he does have a good left hook to go along with a heavy right hand and he can do plenty of damage with either hand.  This should be a fun fight with plenty of action.  Medina has the experience and plenty of power but Benavidez is a bit quicker and arguably a bigger puncher.  However, while Benavidez has never been dropped as a pro Medina has been knocked out three times so if they do start exchanging heavy leather it may be Medina whose chin lets him down.  It will be a close on between Benavidez and Medina and while both fighters will have their moments it will be Benavidez who comes away with the majority decision victory.

Lara connecting with a left hand

Jorge Lara vs. Mario Briones: The other undefeated fighter in action on Saturday will be Jorge Lara (28-0-2, 20  KO).  Lara will be in the ring against Mario Briones (28-5-2, 21 KO) and the two are scheduled to go 10 rounds from the featherweight division.  Lara is a southpaw with good power and a measuring stick jab.  His right hook is a nice weapon as is his left hand and he likes to throw uppercuts from varying distances.  One issue for him is that he leaves his chin exposed at times and going forward he could pay the price for that.  However, he does have a nice idea of what he wants to do in the ring and usually moves pretty well.  Briones is an orthodox fighter who also packs a strong punch.  Don't expect to see many jabs from Briones who loves to sit in the pocket and unload with both hands, even if he has to eat plenty of punches in the process.  The right hand of Briones is decent but he looks to do most of his damage with his big left hook.  He isn't a very accurate puncher though and that could be his downfall against Lara.  Like the main event, this fight should provide fans with plenty of action but it will be Lara who gets the better of that action on his way to a close unanimous decision win.