Robert Easter Jr. vs. Denis Shafikov:
On Friday night the PBC will air a fight card on Bounce TV and the main event should be a good one. That main event will feature the undefeated Robert Easter Jr. (19-0, 14 KO) taking on the always tough Denis Shafikov (38-2-1, 20 KO) in a bout scheduled to go 12 rounds from the lightweight division with Easter's IBF title on the line. Easter won that title in his fight against Richard Commey, who entered the fight with an undefeated record. Easter was down early in that fight but got off the canvas to earn the split decision win. Shafikov has also fought Commey in his most recent fight and came away with the close split decision victory. Easter is a very tall lightweight at 5-feet 11-inches and he will be a full 6-inches taller than Shafikov. Easter has a lanky frame and fights out of the orthodox stance where he has shown both good boxing skills and power. The young champion has a quick jab and can turn his left hook over very quickly. Along with those tools Easter also has a very skilled right hand and against the much shorter Shafikov it would be nice to see Easter really use his height and reach advantage. Shafikov is a compact, aging fighter who never gives an opponent an easy night. He fights out of the southpaw stance and he has a good straight left hand he uses like a jab at times. Shafikov also puts in good work with his right hook and does a nice job of varying his attack. However, what Shafikov lacks is a top tier jab and that could hurt him against the bigger, longer Easter. Like in all of his fights Shafikov will make this a very tough night for Easter but Easter will just be too good for him. Easter will be able to control Shafikov using his jab and because of his enormous height and reach advantages he can control the action from the outside on his way to a unanimous decision win.
Julian Williams vs. Joshua Conley:
Friday's co-feature on Bounce TV will mark the return of Julian Williams (22-1-1, 14 KO) following the first loss of his career. Williams will be looking to get back on track against Joshua Conley (14-1-1, 9 KO) who is relatively unknown and has never faced anyone at Williams' level. Williams first loss came at the hands of Jermall Charlo who dropped him four times on his way to a fifth round knockout. That fight came nearly seven months ago and now Williams will try to get back to his winning ways. His fight against Conley is scheduled to go 10 rounds from the junior middleweight division, a division Williams still hopes to get to the top of. Williams is an orthodox fighter with a stiff jab. The left hook of Williams is also a very good weapon, especially to the body but his best punch might be his right hand. On the inside Williams likes to bump opponents back with his shoulder and then once he has space he unleashes the right hand. However, against Charlo he was exposed and going forward his chin will be a big question mark. As for Conley, he is also an orthodox fighter but he has never faced a notable opponent and this will be by far the biggest bout of his career. Conley is not a very skilled fighter and don't expect to see him use his jab much. Instead he likes to counter with heavy right hands and wild left hooks. Conley has a bad habit of forgetting about return fire when he does let his hands go but he does always remember to attack the body. Against a fighter with the skill set of Conley, Williams should be able to impose his will. However, Conley is a wild puncher so Williams needs to be careful not to get caught while he is unloaded his own attack. As long as Williams avoids a punch he doesn't see coming he will win this fight by the way of wide unanimous decision.
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